Invasion
by heyits.reagan
Summary: Swellview's adult population has been captured and turned into minions. Kid Danger is nowhere to be seen. The city is under lockdown, completely cutoff from the outside world. Faith is wearing thin and has completely vanished for some. There's only one hope now: A super powered teen, his best friends, and his annoying little sister.
1. disobeying mom's orders

"C'mon Mom, please?" Henry begged. He followed his mom around the counter as she gathered vegetables.

"Rinse these, will you?" she asked, handing over a bundle of carrots. It was her turn to make dinner and she planned on fixing her homemade chicken noodle soup.

Henry sighed. He spun around and turned on the faucet. "Everybody's going to be there."

"I don't want my son attending any concert of someone who holds events on Sundays." Siren grabbed a knife from the drawer by her hip and began slicing the chicken tenders. "It's a holy day."

"And I'm sure that's really important to people who _actually_ go to church," Henry muttered, rolling his eyes. He rolled the carrots between his fingers, enjoying the icy water running over his skin. Even with their air conditioning on, Swellview's summer sun was an unbeatable force that had him sweating in every part of his house.

"Jasper's going." He grabbed a dry dish rag from a drawer and dried the carrots. "And Charlotte!" Well, not exactly. Charlotte wasn't planning on asking her parents because she already knew the answer would be no. However, Jasper and Henry already devised a plan to sneak her out of her house, so her chances of missing the event were slim.

"I'm not surprised about Jasper; his parents don't care what he does. Charlotte, however… Is she actually going, or are you using her as a persuasion method?"

Henry turned and laid the carrots on the counter. "She's actually going, Mom. You know why? Her parents are cool."

Siren raised an eyebrow. "I'm cool."

"All the cool parents are letting their kids go to the concert tonight."

She smiled patronizingly. "Well, all the cool _est_ parents are making their kids stay and study and not skip out on their jobs."

"My boss is going!" Henry cried, growing desperate. This wasn't the conversation he planned.

Siren paused mid cut and glanced up at her son, disbelief heavy on her face. Henry stared for a moment before he sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, okay, that was a dumb excuse. He's probably never even _heard_ of this band."

"Henry," Siren sighed, laying her knife on the counter and turning to her son, "my final answer is no. You can't stay out past midnight on a school night, and you have a responsibility at Junk N Stuff."

"Mom, seriously, I'm a _senior_. My time at Swellview is almost over!"

"Then you better enjoy it while you can."

Henry clenched his jaw. He took a step back, resisting the urge to roll his eyes because the last thing he needed was to be grounded. "The school doesn't even care if we show up! My classes are finished. My boss won't care if I come in late, trust me. I'm almost eighteen, Mom. When are you going to let me start making decisions for myself?"

"When you move out," was her sharp response. She was growing tired of the conversation. "When you live under your own roof, you can make your own rules. Until then, you're in high school, you have a job, you're not staying out on weekdays."

Henry scowled. With a childish kick to the side of the counter, he turned and stormed toward the stairs.

"Henry," his mother called. He considered carrying on and ignoring her. That's what any typical teenager would do, anyways. He wasn't a typical teenager, though. That little kick in the kitchen was immature, he acknowledged. Already, he felt embarrassed about it.

"What?" Henry sighed, turning to her. He, too, was tired of talking to her.

"Just remember, every action you make has a consequence." She spoke like she could see right through him, like she could peak into his brain and uncover his secret plans. "Good or bad, everything has a result. Make sure you're prepared to face those results before you make the decision."

Henry turned to the stairs and shook his head. "Thanks for the word of wisdom, Mom." He jogged up the stairs and slammed his door shut, not too hard, but just loud enough for her to hear.

Siren sighed. She grabbed another piece of chicken and began chopping.

•••••

At eleven o'clock, Henry tossed his comforter to the side and slipped out of bed. He changed into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Between looking for socks and tying up his shoes, Henry sent a text in the group chat with his friends. He warned Charlotte to put on something nice because she _was_ going with them, whether she liked it or not. Despite whatever protests she may have had, Henry didn't miss the eager emoji she sent at the end of her text.

Henry pat his pockets, confirming he had his phone, wallet, and gum dispenser. You never know when the city needed saving, after all. He glanced at his wrist to make sure the wiz band was still there. He only ever took it off to shower, but sometimes he forgets to put it back on, you know?

Just as he had one foot out the window, his bedroom door open. Henry froze, fingers curling around the window sill as he began running excuses through his head, anything that might explain to his parents what he was doing that wouldn't get him in major trouble.

"And where do you think you're going?" Piper asked, pushing the door shut behind her. She stepped a few feet into the room and crossed her arms over her chest, smirking.

Henry sighed, leaning against the wall. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"I heard your little tantrum earlier and figured you planned on sneaking out tonight." She climbed onto the platform by the window and put her hands on her hips. "I swear to keep this all a secret _if_ you let me tag along."

Henry scoffed. "Absolutely not."

Piper raised an eyebrow. "You really want to test me? All I have to do is scream and they'll come rushing in."

"Piper, c'mon, can't you be decent for one day?"

She rolled her eyes. "That's not the way you talk to someone who's trying to save your social life."

"Oh wow, I had no idea you were so considerate."

"You got five seconds before I start yelling."

Henry glanced at his wiz band.

"Five."

 _What if I zap Piper?_

"Four."

 _She'd be out long enough for me to sneak out and be out of town._

"Three."

 _Mom and Dad wouldn't be able to yell at me. Not until tomorrow, at least._

"Two."

 _But I'd still have to face the parental wrath._

"One."

Piper turned her head, opened her mouth, and took a deep breath.

Henry leaned forward, slapping a hand over her mouth before she could belt a war cry. He glared, angry that she got her away _again_.

"Fine!" he caved. "You can come with me."

Piper smirked. "Glad you came to your senses."

"Shut up," he groaned, throwing his other leg over the window sill. "C'mon, Jasper and Charlotte are waiting."

Piper happily climbed out the window and onto the tree branch. He watched until she was safely on the ground because you know, she's still his sister. Just because she's infuriating, obnoxious, and a total brat most of the time, he doesn't want to see her fall out of a tree.

Henry glanced back in his room. He went over the list in his head, double checking he didn't forget something. The money was on his debit card in his phone. The tickets were in his jacket pocket, right next to a pack of gum. ID, gum, phone… Check.

As he climbed down the tree, he couldn't help but think back to what his mom said earlier, about the decisions and consequences. It didn't bother him much. Of course, he'd be grounded for a week or so if his parents found out, but he could live with that. At least he went to the concert, right?

Still though, there was a bad feeling driving out of Swellview that night. It was eerie and made his stomach churn. You know that feeling you get when you're strapped into a rollercoaster you've never been on and slowly, you're climbing that first mountain and the higher you go, the more anxious you are. That was Henry as he grew further and further away from his home.

He glanced at the _Welcome to Swellview_ sign through his rearview mirror. It shrank with every second until it was eaten by the night.

Henry didn't know it then, but that would be the last time he and his friends saw that sign, and their town, in one piece.

* * *

Hii Henry Danger famdom :) How are ya? I'm doing pretty great, ready for summer, you know how it is.

So apparently the only HD stories (excluding The Kiss List) I can write are angsty and dramatic and usually involve Henry being not okay? Why is that? lol This book is absolutely no different.

Man, wow, this book is gonna be dramatic guys. And maybe painful in some parts, idk, I don't think my writing is _that_ great, but I'll give it a shot! Oh, and it's also gonna be so _wicked_. This is for the people who really want to see some Henry Hart/Kid Danger solo missions.

I don't know how long this'll be. Longer than short story, most likely. I'm guessing it'll be my longest HD fanfic yet. I'm pumpedddd & I hope you are too! Tell me you thoughts in the reviews! :D b


	2. supreme ruler

The Swellview sign had been reduced to a slab of wood sliced down the middle hanging onto only one of the metal legs by a corner. Instead of _Welcome to Swellview_ , the only greeting the teenagers received upon returning home was _Welco Swell_. Although the message did inspire a few chuckles from the boys in the front seats, the overall sight of the familiar sign was chilling. Even more so, the other half of the board lay scattered across the street in splinters, dismembered and forgotten.

A white Swellview police car sat parked across the two lane road. Leaning against the driver's door was a tall, lean man dressed in a navy uniform and a pair of sunglasses. He had dark skin and a bald head. The man seemed unbothered by Henry's car approaching. Instead, the officer turned his head and spoke something into the radio attached to his shoulder. He pushed off his own car and began walking toward the opposing one.

Henry rolled down his window and rested his hands on the steering wheel. "Morning," he greeted when the officer neared. "Something wrong?"

"I'm gonna need you kids to step out of the car," the officer ordered. He twisted his head and gazed down the road behind his car. When he moved, the name tag on his chest flashed with the morning sun. Henry glanced at it, noting the man's name.

"Why?"

"Just do it."

Tires screeched from somewhere unseen. Jasper leaned forward, hands resting on the dashboard as he searched for the source of the noise. Henry watched down the road as well. There was silence for a brief second as the boys wondered what was coming for them.

Then, two black prison transport vehicles whipped around the corner. They drove side-by-side, an angry pair of monster vans racing down the street.

"Get out of the car," the officer Wilson repeated, smacking the side of the driver's door. He took a few steps back and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Uhh… I think we should do what he says," Jasper whispered.

"This is weird," Henry replied.

"Piper," Jasper called, twisting in his seat. "Charlotte, wake up." The girls were asleep in the backseat, heads resting against their respective windows. Jasper grabbed an empty water bottle from a cup holder by the neck and raised his hand to toss it.

Henry caught his wrist and warned, "You know either one will kill you for waking them up like that."

Jasper pursed his lips and lowered the bottle. "Yeah, you're right."

Henry turned off his car and unlocked the buckle. "Grab Charlotte; I got Piper." He popped open the door and slipped outside. The crisp morning air made him shudder. Henry rested his hand on the back door's handle and readied himself. Piper was going to fall the second he opened the door. He carefully popped it open and held his arms out, ready for his sister to slip from the seat. She wasn't buckled either, so her whole body fell into his. He grumbled about her lack of following the law and dragged her out of the car.

When her feet hit the ground, she jerked to life. "What's going on?" she gasped, looking around wildly through the mess of hair in front of her face. "Why are you-Let go of me!"

"Thanks for not letting me fall on my face, Henry," Henry mocked, releasing his sister. "Oh yeah, no problem sis." He scowled and she stuck her tongue out.

"What's going on?" Charlotte mumbled, joining the pair with Jasper right behind. She yawned and tugged her blanket tight across her chest. When the gang looked at her funny, she simply explained, "It's cold."

The prisoner transport vans had stopped just behind the police cruiser. Two pairs of men in black stepped onto the street. They wore dark sunglasses matching Wilson and shared the same solemn expressions on their pale faces. Henry didn't like the looks of them. As the team stepped around the cruiser and continued toward the kids, Henry instinctively stepped forward. He may not be able to transform, but he could still defend him and his friends.

When the silent men came to a halt just past the cruiser, Wilson stepped in front of Henry. He eyed the kids while explaining, "By order of the Supreme Ruler, all children are required to wear the designated Supreme Ruler T-shirts and follow all rules set by Supreme Ruler. Violators of said rules will be sentenced to death."

Henry opened his mouth and closed it again. He didn't know which part to question first: The Supreme Ruler nonsense or the fact that this man called them children. Except for Piper, the group was filled with full fledged adults… You know, basically.

"Okay, what idiot names themselves 'Supreme Ruler'?" Henry scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Henry…" Charlotte warned.

"And excuse you, most of us are seventeen. We're not children."

Wilson raised an eyebrow. "Would you like to receive the same treatment as adults?"

"Yeah," Henry declared.

"Wait!" Jasper cried. "What kind of treatment are adults getting?"

Wilson pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "You're looking at it."

The teens shifted their gazes to the four men standing in a picture line behind Wilson. They were like robots, movements synced down to the intakes of their breaths.

"I think I could stand to be a child for a few more weeks," Charlotte said, laughing nervously. Jasper nodded frantically, eyes wide with fear.

Henry didn't admit it, but he agreed wholeheartedly. Whatever treatment the adults were getting was bad news. He met Wilson's eye. "So, that's all the adults in Swellview?"

"Every one of them."

Henry raised an eyebrow. "So who's the Supreme Ruler?" He didn't think the guy could be that much of a threat if he went with the name 'Supreme Ruler.'

Wilson snapped his fingers and one of the robots broke from the lineup. They walked to the police cruiser and reached in the backseat.

"Put these on," Wilson instructed as the robot man stomped to the group. There were four brightly colored T-shirts in his arms.

Jasper's face lit up. "Dibs on the pink one!" he cried.

Henry rolled his eyes as Jasper pushed past him and eagerly snatched the pink shirt from the man's grasp. Jasper took two steps before he looked at the tag and noticed the size.

"Aw, it's a small," he sighed. After a moment's though, he shrugged and tossed the shirt over his shoulder. As he passed Charlotte, she pulled the shirt from him and handed it over to Piper.

"Wha-Hey!" Jasper cried.

"I'm not about to watch you walk around town in another belly shirt," Charlotte said, shaking her head.

Henry grabbed the remaining three shirts and passed them out to his friends. Jasper took a bright green and ran before anyone could take it back. Charlotte chose a purple and Henry was stuck with red.

Piper held the shirt up in front of her. There was a box of letters over a chest pocket. She read aloud, "Worshiper of Supreme Ruler. Violators will be killed." She pressed her lips together and looked at Wilson. "He sounds like a swell guy."

"That's why he took over _Swell_ view."

The kids stared as Wilson laughed at his own joke. After a second, the man composed himself and cleared his throat, a somber expression replacing the amusement. "Anyways," he said, "in the vans, all of you. Girls in one and boys in the other."

The gang shared a look. It was probably the best idea to do as the man says. They didn't want to cause problems before they knew who the actual problem was.

Henry led the way. The silent men turned their bodies toward the kids as they passed. Jasper refrained from looking one of the men in the eye, though it was difficult. The attention made him shrink with nerves. He was eager to climb into the van even if he had no idea where he was heading next.

Henry paused before climbing into the van. He looked over to the girls, eyebrows drawn with worry. Charlotte was pulling Piper inside.

"Henry, let's go!" Jasper cried. "I bet those guys are hiding laser eyes behind the sunglasses and I do _not_ want to see them use it."

The blond grabbed a latch on the inside of the truck and pulled himself inside. There were two long benches attached to both walls. Henry sat across from Jasper.

The doors fell shut and the boys were enveloped in darkness. An engine roared to life and the vehicle rolled forward with a jerk.

"We should probably put these on," Jasper muttered, holding up the new shirt.

Henry leaned against the wall. "Where do you think they're taking us?"

"Probably somewhere dark and scary." Jasper cracked a smile like he was joking, but there was uncertainty in the air. Could there be truth to the statement? They had no idea what they were in for. Officer Wilson could've been lying about the adults-only treatment. The teens could be taken to the end of their free will and they wouldn't even know.

Henry pulled off his shirt and tugged on the new one. It hung loose on his shoulders and the sleeves were a bit long. Jasper's fit perfectly.

They rode in silence for a few minutes. Henry raised his wrist to his face and flipped open the whiz band. There was a sinking feeling in his chest that calling Ray was a lost cause, but he had to try.

"You think that'll work?" Jasper asked.

Henry shrugged weakly. "I don't know. Hopefully. Maybe Ray didn't know this was happening, you know? Maybe… Maybe he's out of town or overslept or, um… You know! Maybe he's just not aware this is happening."

"Or maybe they already got him."

A stiff silence hung between them after that statement, interrupted only by the ringing of the band. Henry didn't look at Jasper. He didn't want to think about accepting that reality.

"Captain Man? Captured?" Henry laughed like it was some kind of good joke. "Nah, no way." But as the wihz band continued into its fifth and sixth ring, Henry's hope was faltering and he really began to wonder, _maybe they already got Ray?_

"Hen," Jasper said as the ringing rolled into its tenth round.

"He's Captain Man," Henry stated, shaking his head. "He's indestructible. Nobody can _touch_ the guy, so how could they capture him?" He slammed his whiz band shut and sighed.

"I don't know! Maybe… Maybe… Well, you know how he gets with women! Maybe they lured him into a trap."

Henry wanted to brush that off and say the idea was stupid, but Ray was a dummy when it came to beautiful women. The blond rolled his eyes. If he finds out Ray was _actually_ influenced into captivity by beautiful women…

Jasper climbed on his bench and twisted around to gaze out a small barred window.

"Anything look off?" Henry asked.

"No," Jasper answered. He pressed his face to the cold bars. "The only weird thing is that there's nobody on the streets. It's like Swellview's turned into a ghost town."

Henry didn't bother looking. He could imagine the view in his head already. The idea of one of Swellview's enemies finally defeating Captain Man and Kid Danger has infected Henry's mind before. Every dream began differently, each with its own villain and evil plan, but they all ended the same way: Dark and lonely. In many ways, it resembled that one time Henry and Charlotte were transported to the alternate reality.

The van took a sharp left turn. Jasper would've toppled off the seat if he hadn't hooked his fingers around the bars right in time. Henry tightened his grip on the bottom of the bench as his back pressed into the wall.

Just as Jasper resumed peering out the window, a steady beep drifted through the air. It sounded like the van was backing up.

"Oh my God," Jasper whined.

"What?" Henry asked.

"Of all the places they could've put us, seriously?!"

Henry pushed himself to the edge of the bench. "What, Jasper? Where are we?"

The doors suddenly flew open. Light poured in and blinded the boys for a moment. Henry squinted into the sunlight and managed to make out a building looming over them. As his eyes adjusted, he could see words. Three, to be exact.

 _Swellview High School_

•••••

Once inside, the teens were ushered into the auditorium. They were guided to a row in the front with only six seats remaining. Piper was sat at the end next to Henry. When the lights fell and a spotlight shone on the still black curtains, two people filled in the empty spots.

Piper smacked Henry's arm. "Switch seats with me," she hissed.

"Why?" he asked. He leaned forward and gazed past her shoulder. Oliver and Sidney stared back. "Oh hey Sidney, Oliver." He waved and smiled.

"Hey Henry!" Sidney replied.

"Hi," Oliver said.

Piper's eyes widened as she pleaded silently with her brother. "Henry, c'mon."

"Good morning students," a voice boomed throughout the auditorium. It was a deep voice, not one Henry could recognize.

"What's that?" Henry said. "I can't hear you over the sound of our Supreme Ruler talking to us."

Piper scowled, glaring holes into his head as he tilted his chin back and gazed up at the stage.

Henry went through the list of villains in his head. Who could have bested Ray? There weren't many actually smart enough to win in a fight against Captain Man. The Toddler was insane and impulsive, but easy to beat. Jeff? Ha ha, never mind. The Time Jerker was in jail. Drex was living it up with the dinosaurs… Actually, he was most likely dead. Drill Finger? Nah, this wasn't his style. Gwen?

 _Gwen_. Well, it was possible. She was certainly intelligent enough to brainwash both Henry and Ray. It wouldn't take too many muffins before she had Swellview's most important people under her control. Henry remembered the truce they had, but he also remembered the first rule of Superhero Training: Never trust the enemy.

There was also Dr. Minyak. That guy was as insane (and sometime idiotic) as the Toddler, but as clever as Gwen. However, Henry hadn't seen or heard from the guy since his voice was destroyed at Double G's concert a few months earlier. Could he have been plotting this whole time? That didn't sit well with Henry.

The curtains parted and somebody stepped into the spotlight. Collective gasps rippled through the auditorium. Henry sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Gwen may have been easier to deal with.

Dr. Minyak grinned as he gazed into the audience. "Hello Swellview High," he greeted, "for those who don't know, I am Doctor Minyak."

Charlotte and Jasper looked at Henry, shell shocked. Henry couldn't bring himself to look at his friends because he was too busy going over ideas in his head. How was he supposed to stop Minyak on his own? The thought made him uneasy.

"As you may have noticed, I have taken control of your city and everyone in it. The adults are under my direct control," he revealed a clear remote control from his jacket pocket. "At the press of a button, they do whatever I command. Therefore, don't think you brats are going to outsmart them. If you break any of my rules, things will not be pretty for you. That being said, here are my rules.

 **"Number one** , you can only wear the uniforms provided. This makes you easier to track down if you break my rules and need to be punished. **Number two** , you are only allowed to go to school and your homes. I don't need children running amuck around my town. If you're caught anywhere besides those two places, you will be punished. **Number three** , curfew is seven o'clock. Again, break the rule and you will be punished. Above all: Don't act like baboons and we'll get along just fine. Questions?"

"I have one," Piper announced, jumping to her feet. "Where's Captain Man?"

"Yeah, and Kid Danger?" Jasper added, narrowing his eyes.

Cries of agreement erupted through the room. The students turned to each other, engaging in their own conversations as the silence diminished.

"They-" Minyak began, trying to calm the kids down. "That's enough. Hey! That's enough! HEY-" He scowled. With a snarl, he pressed the big red button on his remote.

A shot rang through the air. There was a scream and the entire room shushed. Henry jumped to his feet and turned to the source of the scream. His instincts were kicking in and he made a move in that direction. Charlotte caught his hand just as he realized nobody was actually hurt. It was a scream of surprise, not pain. He sank back into his chair with a sigh of relief.

"So the guns are real," he muttered to himself, but Charlotte still nodded to agree.

"As I was saying," Minyak growled, glaring at the large mass of teenagers, "Captain Man was captured with the rest of your mommies and daddies. I've yet to take control of his brain, though. Forcing him to watch the destruction of his home is far more entertaining." Minyak laughed cruelly. It echoed off the walls. "And as for Kid Danger, well, that coward's been MIA. There's a warrant out for his arrest, and if any of you kiddies can bring him to me, dead or alive doesn't matter, I'll give you a special reward."

Henry clenched his jaw. He looked at his lap and tried controlling his emotions. He was angry and frustrated that Minyak somehow obtained so much power, but he was also scared.

The whole city was looking for _him,_ and whether they wanted him dead or alive didn't matter; the idea chilled him to the bone.

* * *

This was longer than I was expecting it to be, thankfully. Apparently this story wants to take things slow at first, I'm sorry, just bear with me. That's… That's all I can say really haha.

Leave a review of what you thought & thanks for reading! I'll try and get the next up sooner than this one. :)


	3. piper hart knows

_Tick, tick, tick_

Jasper had his head on his desk. His snores mixed rhythmically with the ticks of the clock.

 _Tick, tick, tick_

Henry's chin rested on his hand. He was dozing, eyelids drooping and head becoming heavy. He forced himself awake because he couldn't take his eyes off the "teacher" watching the class.

 _Tick, tick, tick_

The "teacher" wasn't actually watching the class, though. She was one of the mindless zombies Minyak had taken control of. She wasn't even a teacher at the school, just some random citizen off the road. And she sat and stared at a black spot on the back wall, never moving. Her eyes were covered with dark sunglasses, so she could possibly not be blinking too. Henry wondered if she was still breathing, but then her shoulders rose with an intake of breath and he was reassured.

 _Tick, tick, tick_

"This is so stupid," Henry groaned. Jasper looked at him. "What's the point of going to class if we're just going to sit here and do nothing?"

"You'd rather _do_ stuff?" Jasper asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'd rather do anything that isn't sitting here with some zombie and doing nothing when," Henry leaned across the isle and lowered his voice, "when Ray and Schwoz and everyone else needs our help."

"Well, what are we supposed to do?"

"We need to get to the Man Cave somehow."

Henry leaned back in his seat. He raised his hand and asked, "Excuse me? Can I go to the bathroom?"

No answer.

The blond jumped to his feet. "I didn't hear a no." He threw a grin at Jasper as he strolled down the row and headed for the door.

"Stop," the woman said, her first word since they'd arrived thirty minutes earlier.

Henry turned around. "Or what?" he challenged.

"Sit down." Her voice was monotoned, exactly what Henry had been expecting from a robot.

The blond took a challenging step backward. "I have to go to the restroom, ma'am."

"Disobedience results in punishment."

"Which is what, exactly?"

Jasper frowned. He had a bad feeling about this.

The teacher revealed a gun from under the desk. There was hardly time to react before she pulled the trigger and a bang echoed off the walls. Henry's classmates dove to the floor, screaming and yelling. Jasper shouted Henry's name, forgetting for a split second that his best friend had a superpower.

Henry sidestepped, turning his body toward the back wall. Time seemed to slow as a narrow bullet crossed his vision. It just barely missed his nose. Only when it slammed into the wall beside him did he release the breath he'd been holding.

The classroom was still. Jasper peeked over his chair, eyes wide with fear. His gaze settled on Henry, alive and still standing, and his head dropped to the desk with relief. _Thank God for hyper-motility,_ he thought with a sigh.

"What's the point of keeping us here if you're just going to kill us?!" Henry cried, glaring at the woman.

She remained emotionless. "Not kill."

Henry's face twisted in confusion. He looked over his shoulder, double checking that the thing in the wall was indeed a bullet. His eyes fell on a black circle stuck to a laminated poster about grammar rules. It wasn't embedded as far into the wall as he had imagined. There wasn't even a dent. It was like a magnet, stuck to the wall by some invisible force. The bullet had transformed, two black arms arching away from its body and rounding out to create two dark frames with additional limbs attached to the ovals.

 _Glasses._ Henry squinted. _The bullet transformed… Into glasses?_

"Our Supreme Ruler doesn't want to take control of you," the woman spoke again, this time to the class, "but he will if he has to."

Henry gulped. He turned back to the woman and a chill ran down his spine for the second time in an hour. Her sunglasses matched the pair stuck to the wall.

 _If my power hadn't kicked in, I'd be one of them._ Henry took a deep breath. _Thank_ _ **God**_ _for hyper-motility_.

The woman turned back to him. "Now," she said, a hint of anger in her regular monotone, " _sit down_."

Henry returned to his seat wearily. Every step was uneasy and weak. He was sure his legs had turned to jelly.

As he sat down, he and Jasper shared a look. Henry wasn't really sure what they were thinking—that was terrifying? I'm glad you're/I'm alive? Let's not anger that woman again?––but he knew they were on the same page regardless.

Henry glanced at the clock. Ten minutes left of class.

 _Tick, tick, tick_

•••••

The boys met the girls in front of the lockers. Piper had snuck into Charlotte's class after the assembly since she technically wasn't supposed to be in the high school in the first place, and she'd rather hangout with Charlotte than some dumb boys.

"Hey," Henry greeted, "how was your class?"

Charlotte sighed, leaning against her locker. "Boring. More than usual. What about yours?"

Jasper and Henry looked at each other. Henry rubbed the back of his neck while Jasper tried to whistle a tune that fell flat on the second note.

Piper pursed her lips. "We heard a gunshot from somewhere. That was your room, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Henry answered.

"Uh-huh," Jasper nodded.

"What happened?!" Charlotte gasped.

"The punishment for disobeying orders is mind control," Henry explained. "The bullets in the guns aren't even real bullets—they transform into the glasses all of Minyak's zombies are wearing."

Piper hummed. "That's pretty cool."

" _And_ scary. All someone has to do is slip up and it's bye bye free will," Charlotte pointed out, crossing her arms over her chest. "What are we gonna do?"

Henry looked around. His peers were beginning to disappear into classrooms. He glanced at the digital clock on the wall; they were an hour away from the end of the school day.

"Meet back here after the last bell," he ordered, turning back to his friends.

" _All_ of us?" Jasper asked, side glancing Piper.

Leaving Piper alone while Henry figured out a game plan had crossed his mind many times in the last few hours, but every idea ended with the fact that he couldn't do it. He couldn't let her out of his sight, not in the situation they were in. What if something happened to her? What if somebody got a hold of her? With Piper's temper, Henry was sure she'd break the rules eventually. There was too much at stake to leave her behind like usual.

The blond nodded. "All of us, yeah."

Piper watched the trio with confusion. There they go again, speaking in their vague language like they had some secret to hide. She rolled her eyes. What was so important that she couldn't know about it? Piper felt like this had been going on for years, ever since Henry got his job.

As the group departed and the twelve year old followed Charlotte to the next class, she decided to get some answers.

"Hey, Charlotte?" she asked, falling into step with the older girl.

"Hm?"

"What's Henry's secret?"

"What?" Charlotte stopped walking and looked at her.

"You guys have been acting secretive for years," Piper explained, narrowing her eyes. "I want to know what's going on."

Charlotte pulled her lower lip between her teeth. "It's your lucky day, then. I think you're going to find out after school."

"Oh." The idea made Piper's shoulder rise with excitement. "Okay. Cool." She deflated before her eagerness was noticeable. With a careless shrug, she continued walking.

Charlotte smiled a little. She may have been just the tiniest bit excited about Piper finally learning the truth, too.

•••••

By the time school let out, the streets were crawling with zombies. There were a lot hanging around the school in particular, waiting to escort kids home. Henry hoped nobody's parents were waiting for them out there. How sickening would that be, seeing your parents under the control of someone else? Emotionless and robotic? If there was one thing Henry _really_ hoped for, it was that he wouldn't have to face his parents in the midst of this mess.

The hallway didn't empty as fast as it usually did. Teens lingered around the lockers, eyeing the main doors wearily. As much as they may not enjoy school, the outside world looked a lot worse. At least inside they were with their friends in a (somewhat) relaxing environment.

"So," Charlotte said, eyeing her peers cluttered around the hall, "anybody have a plan?"

Henry ran his fingers over his whiz band. "I have an _idea_."

"That's not a plan."

"Unless you have something better, that's all we've got."

Charlotte rolled her eyes. She looked at Piper then back to Henry, brows raised like she just remembered something. "Think maybe you should let Piper in on some stuff before we try out your idea?"

Piper nodded in agreement.

Jasper's eyes widened. "Oh, now? We're doing it now? Cool."

"Not completely," Henry argued. He leaned against his locker and met his sister's eyes. "Okay, here's the main plan: We need to get across town to Junk N Stuff."

"Why?" Piper asked.

"For now, let's just say there are things there that we need."

Jasper nudged Henry with his elbow. "So, what's your idea?"

"I was just gonna knock some people out and then make a run for it," Henry admitted, tapping his watch and shrugging.

"How are you supposed to knock people out with that thing?" Piper asked, resting her hands on her hips.

Henry grinned. "You'll see."

Charlotte shook her head. "We can't just make a run for it. We'll be caught for sure!"

"Okay, then what's your bright idea?" Henry asked, crossing his arms.

She looked around for inspiration. There wasn't much, just a bunch of teenagers nervously chatting in clumps throughout the hall. A boy moved his head and something red caught her eye.

"We need to get everyone out. We can mix in with the crowd and sneak off while the adult minions are occupied with the kids," she said.

"How are we supposed to get them out? No one wants to leave!" Piper cried.

Charlotte nodded her head behind her. "There's a fire alarm back there."

Jasper pushed off the lockers. "I got it!"

The remaining trio watched Jasper push through the teenage cliques and fight his way to a fire alarm next to the front door. With his hand on the trigger, he pulled a tall boy in front of him to block his view from a teacher walking by. When the coast was clear, Jasper grinned a bit as he yanked the lever down.

The alarm pierced through the hallway chatter. Teens recoiled in surprise, throwing their hands to their ears at the screeching rattling through the speakers. Students began hurrying outside, pushing and shoving their way into the open air. Jasper flashed his friends two thumbs up through the commotion.

Charlotte shoved Piper and Henry into an open spot in the crowd. Jasper worked his way to his friends and they moved with the mass, tolerating the shoving just long enough to break free of the warm building temperature.

Jasper stepped away as soon as he could. He grabbed Piper's wrist, she grabbed Henry's, Henry grabbed Charlotte's, and the whole train stumbled off the path the rest of their classmates were rushing down. They ran along the side of the school, desperate to get around the corner without getting caught.

When they were safely out of sight from the escort zombies, they breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay," Piper said, turning to Henry, "we're away from them. Now can you tell me what's going on?"

Henry shook his head. "We're not in the clear yet." He looked down the street. It was silent and lifeless. "We still have to make it to Junk N Stuff."

•••••

Charlotte peered around a dumpster. She tried not to focus on the grimy metal her fingers were curled around or the odor making her eyes water. She turned her head right and left, scanning the main road for any signs of life. Things were eerily quiet.

"Nobody's around," Piper said. "Can you let me in on the secret now?" She'd asked four times since they'd escaped from school. Henry sighed, dragging a hand down his face.

"For the last time, _no_. I can't talk about it in the open like this. We're almost to Junk N Stuff."

"Clear," Charlotte confirmed. She waved her hand, motioning her friends to follow.

They walked in a line, girls in front and boys in the back. Every step was accompanied by a glance over the shoulder. Henry's fingers hovered over his whiz band at all times, ready to aim and shoot if needed.

A poster on a lamp post caught Jasper's eye as they reached the other side of the street. He tore the paper from the post and returned to his friends.

"Henry," he called, looking up. He handed over the flyer while gnawing on his lower lip.

Henry sighed as he glanced over the paper. It was a wanted poster with Kid Danger's picture smack dab in the center. Beneath the picture explained Minyak's promise to grant whoever completed the task with a "special reward."

"He sure works fast," Henry muttered, crushing the flyer in his hands.

Charlotte nudged Henry's arm. "C'mon," she said. "Junk N Stuff is right up here."

Henry tossed the crumbled up poster into an alley. As he turned to leave, something made him freeze.

There were more posters.

Littered across the buildings, the traffic posts, and even the dumpsters and mail boxes were flyers of Kid Danger. They were all the same thing: WANTED, KID DANGER, DEAD OR ALIVE. They were everywhere. He felt like he were in another parallel universe, one where _he_ was the criminal and not Dr. Minyak.

Henry took a deep breath. Why were they after him? What did _he_ do to be stuck with this? Why-

"HENRY!"

His sister's scream snapped his from his trance. Henry blinked. She yelled his name again. He spun on his heel and jogged toward the source, wondering what was happening.

He spotted three adults surrounding his friends. They stretched their arms, reaching for the teens. Jasper held his own arms in front of the girls protectively, turning his head to the side as he awaited the impending danger.

Henry slowed to a stop. He raised his wrist, took aim, and fired three green bolts that zapped on impact. The adults froze and there was a beat of silence before they collapsed to the concrete, out cold.

Henry smiled when he reached his friends. "You guys okay?"

"We're fine," Charlotte reassured. "Thanks."

"That was awesome! What just happened?!" Piper cried. She toed one of the adult's hands. "Are they dead?"

"No," Henry chuckled. "They're just unconscious. We should get going before they wake up."

"Right," Jasper agreed. "Good thing we're here!"

After rounding the corner, the sign for Junk N Stuff was revealed and the crew couldn't be happier. They sighed with relief and raced inside. Or, well, they tried. Right as Henry realized the door was probably locked, Jasper ran into it.

"Ow," he whined.

"Sorry Jasp," Henry laughed. He fished the key out of his backpack and walked to the door. The three kept watch as Henry unlocked the door and pushed it open. "C'mon."

Stepping into Junk N Stuff was like a breath of fresh air. Everybody felt like they could breathe easier in the safety of the shop. Henry locked the door behind him and jumped down the steps.

"Okay," he said to Piper, " _now_ we can talk about it."

"Finally!"

Henry shoved her toward the back of the store. "You're not gonna believe me when I say this, so I'll have to show you."

Charlotte pressed the down button on the elevator and shared an amused look with Jasper. There was a ding and the doors slid open.

As Henry stepped inside, he begged, please let someone be down there. Please don't tell me we're all alone in this.

"Ready?" Henry said, looking at Piper.

"Duh! Press the button!"

Jasper snickered. "Don't freak out, okay?"

Piper rolled her eyes. "Don't baby me," she snapped.

"Okay," Henry sang.

He pressed the button.

Immediately, Piper's stomach leapt to her throat. She looped her arm around Henry's and nuzzled her head into his chest, screaming louder than she ever had before. Henry raised his chin and shared an amused grin with his friends over Piper's head.

The elevator stopped with a jolt. Piper raised her head and looked around. Did they stop? The room was still spinning. Slowly, she detached herself from her brother. She straightened her hair and took a step away.

"Stop staring at me," she growled, glaring at the teenagers.

Henry smirked at his little sister. "Pipes, I gotta tell you something?"

"What?" She pressed a finger to her temple; a headache was forming.

Henry turned so his back faced the door. "Piper," he said, grabbing her attention, "I'm Kid Danger."

The doors slid open. He stepped off and spread his arms out.

"And welcome to the Man Cave."


	4. the creepy bald guy

"And welcome to the Man Cave."

Piper took a step forward. Face twisted in confusion, she squinted at her brother and said, "Kid Danger?" She crossed her arms over her chest and scoffed, shaking her head. " _You_? No way. You're not heroic enough."

Henry shot her a flat look. "I'm heroic," he defended, resting his hands on his hips. "Besides, look around. We're _in_ the Man Cave. How else would I have access to that?"

Piper gazed around the room slowly. It wasn't her first time being down there, but it had been so long since her last visit. Perhaps it was because her brain was still rolling from that elevator ride, but the Man Cave was brighter than she remembered.

"Jasper and I came down here a few years ago," she said, raising an eyebrow, "and Kid Danger didn't look or sound anything like you."  
"He had to disguise his face and voice," Charlotte explained. She walked past the girl and took a seat on the couch.

Unbeknownst to them, the secret door beside the Food-O-Matic fell open and somebody slipped out. They had a blaster in their hand and a pair of goggles over their eyes. The person crept in front of the monitors and hid behind the chair. They peeked over the counter, blaster resting next to a panel of buttons. They took aim, centering the tip of the blaster on the back of Henry's neck.

Jasper gasped. "Hen!" he cried, pointing frantically behind his friend. As Henry turned, Jasper threw his arms around Piper and scrambled to safety behind the couch.

Lasers shot through the air. Henry jerked his shoulders to the left, then the right. He stormed forward, ducking and rolling past the attacks. He plucked the blaster from the person's grasp and turned it around, aiming the nozzle at the person's forehead.

"Schwoz!" Henry cried. "Why're you shooting at us?!"

The almost bald scientist leapt to his feet. "HENRY!" he cried, scrambling around the counter and throwing his arms around the sidekick.

Henry shoved Schwoz off. "You can't just hug me right after trying to kill me!"

"Sorry," Schwoz mumbled, stepping away. "I thought you were intruders."

Piper rose to her feet. "Wait a second!" she cried. Throwing a finger at Schwoz, she stared at Charlotte and Jasper with a look of horror and confusion. "Isn't that the man you said lives under our house?"

Henry turned. He looked between his friends and demanded, "What?"

"When you were _stealing_ my Glowy Zoey doll, that guy broke into our house!" Piper cried, waving her arms toward the short man.

"Oh right," Jasper said. "That's Schwoz."

"He doesn't live under your house," Charlotte added with a nod.

Henry scrunched his nose. "Didn't she bury that doll in the backyard? Why'd you dig it up?"

Charlotte crossed her arms over her chest. "Because Drex blew up the time machine and the radiation in the doll was the only way to fix it."

Piper dragged a hand down her face. "What does that even mean?!"

Henry pursed his lips. "That makes sense. Anyways, Schwoz! What happened last night? How'd Minyak get so powerful?"

The kids gathered around the couch. Piper followed begrudgingly behind, muttering to herself about how weird everybody was. This whole day felt like a wacky dream she'd hopefully wake from soon. As she slid in next to Henry, she pinched herself and flinched. No, definitely not a dream.

"There was an emergency call last night from a woman in the park," Schwoz began. "She said she was being followed by a strange man. He left and… I never heard from him again." Schwoz looked at his hands, a troubled expression on his face.

"When did this happen?" Charlotte asked.

"A little after eleven," Schwoz answered.

Henry's mouth suddenly felt dry. His stomach lurched with guilt as he asked, "He didn't… He didn't try to call, did he?" What if Ray tried triple beeping him and he ignored it? What if Ray was captured because the extra help he needed wasn't there? Henry ran his hands through his hair.

Charlotte frowned. "Henry," she tried, rubbing his arm.

Schwoz watched for a moment. The kid's guilt was clear as day. The man reassured, "No. He said he could handle it himself."

That may have calmed Henry down a bit, but he still felt sick. While he was sneaking out of his house, disobeying his parents and running off to some stupid concert, Ray was doing his job _alone_ and was captured because of it.

"After he got Ray," Schwoz continued with a helpless shrug, "I guess controlling the rest of the city was easy."

"Are you the only one here?" Henry asked. "What about Bork? Lailana?"

Schwoz shook his head sadly.

"Piper, can you let me out?" Henry asked softly. His sister complied without a word, which was odd on her part. She slid out from behind the table and got out of his way. Although she was confused about practically the whole conversation, the distress and worry on her brother's face was the one thing she understood.

Henry paced. He ran his fingers through his hair every time he turned and walked back the other way. Being off the couch and free to stretch his legs helped like he thought it would, but his heart was still pounding because the entire situation was _really_ clawing at him now. Schwoz was the only one left in the Man Cave. It was better than nobody, but _still_.

Piper had never seen him so worried.

Charlotte broke the silence, "Well, we can't just sit here, right? We have to take back Swellview!"

"How?!" Henry cried. "We don't have a chance! It's us against the _entire_ city. Not to mention everyone wants me _dead_!"

Jasper argued sheepishly, "The flyer said alive _or_ dead."

Henry threw a glare over his shoulder, forcing his friend to slump behind the table.

"I can probably create a weapon to counteract the mind control effects," Schwoz said. "I'd need a piece of the technology, though."

"We can get that," Jasper said. "Our teacher tried shooting Henry with one today."

Schwoz clapped his hands together. "Good! Do that! Bring it tomorrow."

Charlotte looked at her phone. "Should we be heading back?"

"Why don't we just stay here?" Henry suggested. "It'd be safer."

"We'll be further from school in the morning," Charlotte answered. "Plus, we'll have to sneak in then."

Henry sighed. "Yeah, you're right. I guess we'll get going. See you tomorrow, Schwoz."

"Good luck," Schwoz called as the kids headed to the elevator.

Piper hesitated. "Isn't there a better way to get back up?"

Charlotte looked at Henry. "There is another way."

Henry turned to his friends. "You guys cool by yourselves?"  
J

asper nodded. "Have some faith in us, dude. We'll meet you."

Piper sighed. She hated being left out of the loop.

With a grin, Henry stepped off the elevator. He grabbed Piper's arm and guided her to the tube platform. He positioned her over an orange circle then stepped to his own spot.

"What is this?" Piper asked.

Henry pressed a button. Two clear tubes fell from the ceiling and enclosed the kids. Piper gasped, looking at her brother.

Henry grinned. "You ready?"  
"Uh, duh!" she cried.

The older tilted his chin back and gazed up into a brightly lit path stretching all the way to the surface. "Up the tube!" he shouted.

Schwoz, Charlotte and Jasper watched in amusement as the Hart siblings disappeared up the tube, Piper's screams echoing through the glass.

•••••

Henry and Piper crawled through Henry's window an hour later. After dropping Charlotte and Jasper off at their homes, the siblings raced through three backyards and jumped two fences to make it home before they were spotted. By the time they had climbed the tree, they were exhausted.

Piper collapsed on Henry's couch, hand over her chest as she huffed and puffed. Henry leapt onto the floor and hid his bubblegum behind the painting beside his bed. Then, he rolled onto his pillows.

His sister looked over at him. "So," she said, drawing his gaze, "you're Kid Danger."

He smiled. "Yep, that's me."

"And you have superpowers."

"I have one, but yeah."

Piper sighed. "This isn't fair. Why do you get to be cooler than me?"

Henry laughed. "Perks of being older, I guess."

"You're still a loser."

"And you're still a brat."

"So, wait…" She sat up, eyebrows drawn. "A few years ago when the Wall Dogs were still at large… You attacked Jasper!"

Henry sat up as well. "I didn't… _Attack_ him."

"He came here covered in paint, and said _you_ did it to him."

"I, yeah, but-"

" _And_ you attacked Captain Man! Whoa, my brother went rogue for like a day."

"I didn't go rogue, it was all apart of the plan. I was finding out where the secret Wall Dogs hideout was."

Piper sighed. Henry watched for a moment, trying to read her face. "Are you disappointed?" he asked. "I know you really looked up to Kid Danger." He gnawed on his lip, running his fingers over his bedspread. A lot of people looked up to Kid Danger. There was always that nagging feeling that he wasn't as great as people perceived him to be.

"No," she answered after a moment. "I still look up to Kid Danger." That made him smile a bit. "I'm just realizing that I've been calling you hot for the past four years."

Henry pursed his lips. "Yeah… I always tried to leave the room when you started talking like that."

Piper snorted. "I can't believe that my brother's been Kid Danger this whole time."

"When this is all over, I'll introduce you to Captain Man myself."

Her face lit up. "Really!?" He grinned and nodded. Piper jumped down the stairs and walked over to his bed. "You think he's okay… Wherever he is?"

"Of course," Henry reassured. "He's indestructible, remember?" Ray's health wasn't exactly Henry's main concern. It's hard to worry when the guy can't be harmed. Henry's top priority at the moment was breaking his mentor out and bringing him home, then they could worry about everything else.

"So," Henry said, swinging his legs over the side of his bed, "we've got the house to ourselves. Anything you want to do?"

"I think Mom's chocolate fudge cake is still in the fridge," Piper said. She jumped to her feet and grinned. "I want to eat all of it."

"Sweet. You grab the cake, I'll grab some movies. We can pig out all night."

Piper made a face. "The cake's mine."

Henry raised an eyebrow. "Not if I get there first. Fun fact, Piper: I'm a lot faster than you!"

With that, he threw his bedroom door open and bolted. His sister screamed his name and stormed after him. They raced down the stairs and through the living room, leaping over discarded shoes and backpacks. Henry glanced over his shoulder and found his sister mere inches behind, a wide smile on her face. It was the first time in a while Henry could recall them chasing each other without the fear of Piper clawing his eyes out when she finally caught him.

Despite whatever circumstances brought them together like that, it was nice.

•••••

Dr. Minyak leaned back in his chair as he gazed at the multiple computer monitors above him. Each displayed a different neighborhood and street corner. Besides his minions, Swellview was silent and growing darker as the minutes ticked away.

He twisted in his chair and smirked at the prisoner across the room. Red and blue shone beneath the lab's neon lights. Captain Man sat with his back against a wall, chains around his ankles and wrists. If Minyak hadn't cancelled Captain Man's powers with the jolly beetle tears, Ray would've broken free hours ago. Unfortunately, the scientist had gotten his hands on more insects. It annoyed Ray to bits just thinking about it.

"Day one has gone wonderfully," Minyak said, chuckling to himself. "I can't wait to see how day two goes. Maybe I'll catch Kid Danger. Any idea where he's hiding?"

"Not a clue," Ray answered through grit teeth. He hoped to God Henry didn't get caught. Ray could handle whatever Minyak lashed out, but he definitely wouldn't be able to protect Henry. Not forever.

 _Kid, you better stay where you are,_ Ray thought ferociously. Henry was Swellview's only chance. Ray slumped against the wall with a sigh.

Minyak turned back to his monitors. He glanced over each screen, an evil smile forming on his lips. He muttered, "I'm coming for you, Kid Danger."


	5. the return of kid danger

Previously on _Invasion_ …

Henry revealed his secret and the Man Cave to Piper; Captain Man made his first appearance! He's alive, powerless, and worried about Henry. Fun times.

Now…

* * *

At seven-thirty exactly, there was a knock at the door. Piper glanced over her shoulder, gazing up the stairs. Henry ordered her not to let anyone in when he wasn't around. The fan side of her wanted to listen because Kid Danger said so. However, Kid Danger was her brother, and when did she ever do what he brother told her to?

Piper threw open the door, holding her breath as she expected to see her parents. The visitor was actually her middle-aged neighbor from next door accompanied by her husband. Piper didn't care enough to remember their names.

"Good morning," the woman greeted. "We are here to take you to school." She reminded Piper of the AI inside her Pear Phone, robotic and monotone. Piper was sure she'd never be able to look at her neighbors the same way again.

Henry jumped off the last two stairs and met Piper at the door. "I told you not to open the door for anyone," he muttered, glaring at her.

Piper shrugged. "When have I ever listened to you?"

He poked his tongue into his cheek. "Good point." He turned to the visitors, offering the friendliest smile he could manage.

"Mr. and Mrs. Hendricks, hi," he greeted.

They said nothing.

A school bus stopped at the end of their driveway. Piper pushed past Henry and peeked outside the door. She groaned and rested her forehead against the doorframe.

"Can't we just walk?" she whined.  
No response.

Henry pursed his lips. "I'll take that as a no."

Piper sighed, scowling at the hunk of metal with wheels as she and her brother marched down the sidewalk. The bus driver, a tall lean man with red hair, stood outside the door.

"No talking above a whisper," he warned as Henry and Piper approached. "Violators will be punished."

Piper pushed Henry forward. He tossed an annoyed look over his shoulder before climbing up the stairs. The bus was organized with two to a seat. His peers were quiet, the quietest he'd ever seen on a school bus. Those who were actually placed with their friends spoke in soft voices. Others focused their attention on their phones or whatever was happening outside the windows.

At the back of the bus, Henry spotted Charlotte and Jasper. He and Jasper shared a nod of acknowledgement and Henry headed that way.

"Morning," Charlotte greeted as the siblings sat next to them.

"Hey," Henry replied. "Day two. Ready?"

The bus driver settled back in his seat and the doors slid shut. Piper dug her earbuds from her backpack and turned on some music. She turned up the volume, rested her forehead against the window and watched her neighborhood roll by.

•••••

The glasses were still embedded into the wall when class started. Jasper and Henry lingered by the door longer than normal trying to figure out how they were going to pry it from the wall without the teacher noticing.

Mitch Bilsky walked in just before the bell rang. He knocked Henry's shoulder as he passed and snickered. Henry regarded the bully with an eye roll and went to take his seat.

"How're we going to grab that thing?" Jasper asked.

"We need to distract the teacher," Henry said.

Jasper grinned. "On it."

Henry dug a pencil out of his backpack and rose to his feet. He watched the teacher wearily as he made his way down the isle and toward the pencil sharpener. It was on a table next to the door, right beneath the bullet glasses. The teacher made no attempts to stop him, but he could feel her gaze on his back.

Jasper jumped to his feet and headed for the teacher. "Hey," he said, leaning on her desk and blocking her view, "do you have a moment to talk about our lord and savior, the Supreme Ruler?"

Henry grabbed the bullet with his fingers and tried pulling it from the wall. It didn't budge. He scowled; of course it wouldn't be that easy. His next idea was to jam the point of his pencil beneath the bullet. Maybe he can pop it off the wall.

 _Snap_

The pencil broke in two. Henry huffed. He glanced over his shoulder to check on Jasper.

"I have questions about him," Jasper continued. "What's his favorite animal? What's his real name? Is he a mamma's boy? Does he have an assistant?"

Henry spotted a rack of scissors on a table. As he crept toward the back of the room, he gathered the curious stares of his classmates. Henry smiled sheepishly, muttering to his peers about anything that wouldn't make him look more suspicious.

Jasper glanced over his shoulder. Henry met his eye and waved his hands frantically between the teacher and the scissors he was trying to grab. Jasper nodded. He slid across the desk, dipping his shoulder as he blocked the teacher's view once more.

"I just love his accent, you know?" Jasper continued. "It's all _g'day mate_." He grinned through his terrible British accent.

Henry snatched a pair of scissors and raced back to the pencil sharpener. He worked quickly, opening the scissors and wedging one of the blades beneath the bullet.

Jasper looked back at Henry as he wracked his brain for more things to talk about. "Hey," he said, grinning at the teacher, "let's talk about his hair. That bald spot is really working for him, huh?"

Speak of the devil. A hum cracked over the intercoms. Minyak's cheerful voice filled the classroom, "Good morning students, it's your Supreme Ruler here. I need to speak with Mitch Bilsky in the office ASAP, thank you."

Everybody in the classroom turned to look at the bully in question. Mitch was in the middle of making a platoon of paper airplanes, probably intending to attack an unsuspecting kid in the halls. He paused and glanced around at the twenty sets of eyes staring at him.

He rolled his eyes and grabbed his stuff. "See you dweebs later, I'm headed to the dark side."

Henry leaned on the table. He waited for Mitch to get closer before asking, "Hey Mitch? Heard you wouldn't pull this thing out of the wall."

"BET."

Mitch shoved Henry aside. He grabbed the bullet with his fingers and with a hefty growl, yanked the thing out of the wall. It cracked and hissed upon departure. Mitch tossed it to the table and turned, throwing his arms out like he'd just dropped the mic.

"You sure proved me wrong," Henry sighed, shaking his head.

"Fuck yeah I did, loser."

Quickly, Henry scooped the device in his hands and walked back to his seat. Jasper flashed a smile at the teacher and scurried to his desk.

"I'm surprised you kept that going for so long," Henry muttered.

"Me too. It was really one sided; I thought she'd shoot me for sure."

Henry dropped the glasses into his bag. "Well, now we have an antidote for that."

"We _might_ have an antidote," Jasper corrected.

"No, we do. Schwoz is a mad genius, after all."

Henry grinned. It was the most reassured he had been in days.

•••••

Mitch Bilsky shifted in his seat as the Supreme Ruler circled the office. There was a dark-skinned woman in the corner wearing a black dress and a white lab coat. She pushed her black framed glasses up the bridge of her nose as her eyes never left the fidgeting teenager.

"So like, am I in trouble or something?" Mitch asked.

Minyak took a deep breath. He pulled the desk chair out and took a seat across from the boy. "No," he answered and offered the warmest smile he could manage. "Quite the opposite, actually."

Mitch glanced at the woman in the corner. He slumped back in his seat and cocked an eyebrow while smirking at her. Unimpressed, she chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"I have a proposition for you, Mr. Bilsky."

Mitch's eyes widened. "Duuuuude, what? No way. I've always wanted one of those! Where is she? Can I meet her?"

Minyak opened his mouth and closed it again. "What?"

The woman in the corner pressed her fingers to her forehead. "He thinks you mean _prostitute_."

" _What_?" Supreme Ruler cried. He looked at the teenager with disbelief. Mitch only grinned. Supreme Ruler sighed heavily and dragged a hand down the side of his face. "No, you hormonal buffoon. PROP-O-SI-TION; I'm going to give you something, and in return, you'll do something for me."

Mitch huffed. "Doesn't sound as fun, but whatever."

"Am I right to assume you're feared by your classmates?"

"Oh, hell yeah. I'm king of the school!"

Whether or not that statement was actually true didn't matter; Mitch had a significant amount of power that radiated off him in waves when he walked down the hall. It was enough to catch Minyak's eye, which meant it would be enough to carry out his plan.

"Perfect. I want you to corral your buddies and choose a spot in Swellview to base your patrol team. I am nominating you as Swellview's newest Teen Guard."

"Uh… What does that mean?"

"Basically, you enforce the rules tenfold, and if your peers misbehave or rebel, you will be the one taking care of it. Some of your classmates were seen running rampant around the city yesterday. I need a strong-willed individual to keep everyone else in line."

The woman in the corner raised an eyebrow. She had heavy about the whole thing. Actually, the plan itself wasn't the problem. Her boss' choice of help was the issue.

Mitch seemed to think about it. He scratched the back of his neck and hummed. "So basically," he said, gaze falling to the desk as he tried gathering his thoughts, "I get to shove nerds around like I usually do, but now I won't get in trouble for it?"

"… Yes."

"I want a badge."

Minyak scowled. "You don't need a badge."

"But I _want_ one."

"I'm regretting this already," the man muttered. With a sigh, he decided, "Fine, fine! I'll give you a badge."

Mitch rose to his feet. His chubby face was twisted in a mischievous smirk as he thrust his hand toward the Supreme Ruler.

"You've got yourself a deal then, Mr. Boss Man."

Although Minyak hated the nickname, he smiled and shook the boy's hand.

" _Excellent_."

•••••

Henry's fingers curled around the rough corner of Junk N Stuff. He tilted his head, peeking past the brick wall and gazing down the street. A thick layer of silence fell over him and he took a deep breath.

"Coast is clear," he sighed and stepped away from the building.

His earpiece cackled to life and Charlotte breathed with relief. "So far so good," she said. "Can you hear me okay?"  
Henry pressed a finger to his earlobe. "Uh yeah, roger that Shortstack. I can hear you loud and clear on this end, over."

He grinned at the short silence from her end.

"Shortstack? Really?" she finally scoffed.

"Mmm," Jasper moaned, "we should get pancakes after this."

Henry cringed. "Don't moan in my ear… It's weird."

"Boys please, let's keep this PG, okay?" Charlotte sighed.

There was another beat of silence before Henry heard his sister cry, "Stop looking at me like that! I'm thirteen, not _three_."

Henry crossed the street. His attention was divided between scanning his surroundings and listening to his friends babble in his ear. He rolled a small silver ball between his fingers. It was the device Schwoz created to destroy the mind control devices. Ideally, Henry could throw the ball on the ground and it'll activate on impact, combusting with enough energy to override whatever programming the glasses are circuited with.

Something crashed behind Henry. He froze, every muscle in his body tensing as his eyes darted around the street.

There was silence again. A soft wind blew through his hair.

"Hey," he said, "can you guys see what's near me?"

Charlotte hummed as she typed something on the keyboard. Jasper was the one who answered, "There's nobody within a ten-foot radius of you."

Henry shot a streetlight a flat look. "Thanks for the help, Jasp."

"Ugh, move aside," Charlotte said. When she spoke again, her voice was louder and clearer. "So, it looks like there is something coming around the corner ahead of you. I can't see what it is, but—Oh. There are multiple red dots… Looks like you've found your test subjects."

The superhero took a deep breath. "Cool. Great. Let's go."

"There's four," Charlotte continued. "Be careful. Good luck."

Henry smirked. "I don't need luck." He rolled his shoulders, took two deep breaths, and stepped off the curb.

A group of adults rounded the corner. They wore thin lips and squared shoulders. When they spotted Henry, they stopped.

A beat of silence passed between them. Henry gnawed on his lip, sizing up his opponents. Three men, two women. Definitely not a problem.

"Hey," Henry greeted, stepping forward. He tossed the silver ball in the air and caught it with his other hand, an easy smile resting on his face.

"Kid Danger," one man in the front said.

A woman tapped the corner of her glasses. Henry watched for a moment, waiting for her to say something. She didn't. He shrugged her off, switching his gaze to the rest of the group.

"I've got a present for you guys," he said. He held the ball in front of him between his thumb. "You're gonna love this, trust me. But first—any of you know where I can find Captain Man?"

Nobody answered. Henry squinted. "Hello? Are those glasses too tight on your head or something?"

He glanced at that woman again as she inched forward and stepped in front of the group. Henry scanned her glasses, looking for something she may have done to them. What did she tap? Was it a tracking device? Did she notify Minyak?

A blinking red light at the top of one of the frames caught his eye.

"Are you videoing me?" he asked.

This time, he received an answer, "Yes."

"Is Minyak watching?"

"Yes."

No going back now.

Henry shifted back. The adults pressed forward, shuffling toward the boy and spreading out so they could surround him. Henry took another step back. His eyes darted from one face to another and his eyebrows knitted together.

Brown eyes met black plastic. He stared at the woman, at the camera, at Minyak.

"Dr. _Maniac_ ," Henry cracked a smile because he _knew_ that would make the scientist wither in frustration, "hope you're enjoying yourself, because you _will not last_." His smile fell and was replaced with the coldest glower he could manage. "You've taken Captain Man, sure, but underestimating me will be your second mistake."

A hand grabbed at him. Henry ducked, grabbing the arm of his attacker and throwing the man over his shoulder. The group dispersed, scrambling out of the way of the adult slamming into the ground. Henry took a step back and breathed, rolling his shoulders forward as he dragged his gaze from the man to the woman still videoing him.

Henry smiled. He grinned like he was in on an elaborate prank that was about to be revealed. In one swift motion, he swung his arm back and threw the ball at the ground. There was a crack, an explosion, a gunshot.

The adults straightened like bolts of electricity coursed through their bodies. Then, they collapsed to the ground, and the red light disappeared.

 _Buuuuzzzzzz_

Henry also fell to the ground.

 _Buuuuzzzzzz_

He tumbled on his side, pulling one leg to his chest and pressing his palm to the other's calf. There was pain, throbbing, searing hot pulses of energy that shot up to his hip and down to the ends of his toes. He yelled and gasped, running his fingers over the wound.

 _Buuuuzzzzz_

 _Oh my god, oh my god, there's a bullet—someone shot me—there's a bullet in my leg._

 _Buuuuzzzzz_

"Charlotte?" he said. "Jasper?" His voice was strange; it sounded like his ears were full of cotton. He tried again, louder, "Charlotte! Jasper!"

His head. Whoa. His head really hurt. Another pulse of energy shot through his leg. He threw his head back and yelled painfully.

Black spots blurred his vision. Somebody approached from his left. They wore a black bandana covering their nose and mouth. They had blonde hair pulled back into a high ponytail and greenish blue eyes shining with surprise and worry as they gazed over him.

She turned her head to yell at someone nearby. Her hair whipped to the side and Henry smiled faintly. The blue was still there, bright and bold. When she looked back, she pulled her bandana down to ask him a question.

He couldn't hear, so the only response he could provide before slipping into darkness was a single word he hadn't spoken in years.

" _Veronika_."

* * *

Hiiiiiiii! I'm back! I wish I could've uploaded this two weeks ago before I moved into college and started school, but better late than never?

I hate that the wait was so long! I really do have so much planned for this book, just finding the time to sit down and write it isn't always easy. With school starting and having to adjust to my new college life, I don't have as much time as I would like to update my books. Sad, I know :( SO, be patient with me please! Thanks :)


	6. the wall dogs

Doctor Minyak settled into his chair that afternoon with a delighted sigh. Day two of being the Supreme Ruler of Swellview as going swimmingly.

"I can't believe how easy things have been," he said, spinning in his chair to face the superhero in the corner. "After taking you down, everything else fell into place."

Ray smirked. "Kid Danger's still out there."

"True," Minyak sighed, "but he's a child; he'll slip up eventually."

A monitor flicked to life behind him. It was one of the center screens, bigger than the rest. Ray caught sight of a familiar face, and he sighed, slumping against the wall and shaking his head.

 _Great timing, kid_.

Minyak turned, and an evil grin spread across his face. "There he is! Told you," he sang.

Ray scoffed.

Kid Danger stared into the camera for a moment, eyebrows furrowing beneath the mask. Then he turned his head and gazed over whoever else was around him.

"Is this live?" Ray asked.

Minyak opened his mouth and closed it again. An idea struck, and he slid to the other end of the counter. Ray took that as a yes; why else would Minyak be so frantic about typing some commands into his computer?

The scientist sent a wave of coordinates to the fifty closest minions in the area. When the program was set, he rested his chin on his hand and smiled.

 _I've got you now, boy._

"I've got a present for you guys," Kid Danger said, drawing Minyak's attention again. "But first—any of you know where I can find Captain Man?"

Minyak chuckled darkly. "Stay there, Kid Danger. You'll find him soon enough."

Ray glared. He leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees. He muttered under his breath, encouraging Henry to leave while he had the chance.

There was silence. Kid Danger squinted and asked, "Hello? Are those glasses too tight on your head or something?" He looked back at the camera. His face fell with realization. "Are you videoing me?"

A woman off camera spoke, "Yes."

"Is Minyak watching?"

"Yes."

The kid shifted back, eyes falling to the ground. _Oh no_ , Ray thought. He'd seen that face before; the look of uncertainty was something worn often by Henry, along with fear. Ray could see both in the boy's eyes. It made the superhero angrier. Henry shouldn't have to do this alone.

"Doctor _Maniac_ ," Kid Danger addressed, emphasizing the word and raising an eyebrow mockingly.

Minyak growled. "That disrespectful brat," he spat.

Ray snorted.

"I hope you're enjoying yourself," Kid Danger's tone dropped as his eyes narrowed into a growl and he grounded out, "because you _will not last_."

The kid took a step forward. Minyak and Ray held their breaths, wondering what Kid Danger was going to say next.

"You've taken Captain Man, sure, but underestimating _me_ will be your second mistake."

Someone tried to attack. They reached into the frame and grabbed at Kid Danger. The kid grabbed the person's arm, and he flung them over his shoulder with a grunt.

Minyak glanced at Ray over his shoulder. "He's a skilled fighter, I'll give him that."

Ray cracked a smile. "Of course, he is! I taught him everything he knows."

Kid Danger towered over his attacker. He took a deep breath as he gazed at the unseen person. Then, he glanced at the camera again. Kid Danger raised his hand above his head, revealing the silver sphere he'd been threatening since the recording started.

"What is that?" Minyak asked. He turned and repeated it firmer, " _What is that_?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

Kid Danger threw the ball on the ground. The picture glitched and spazzed out. Static raged through the speakers. Minyak cursed, throwing an arm out to turn down the volume. He sat back and watched. Both men waited with bated breaths to see what would happen next.

Another noise rang through the air. It wasn't as loud as the static, but it made Ray jolt in surprise just the same. He swore his stomach dropped to his knees because _that was definitely a gunshot._

The camera moved in a blur until it fell sideways against the concrete. Just before the picture cut out completely, there was a moment full of Kid Danger collapsing a few feet away. His face twisted in pain, then there was darkness.

Ray growled, "What the hell did you just do?!" He tore at his shackles, hoping his anger would give him enough strength to break free so he could finally strangle this idiot.

Minyak spun in his chair and smiled. He had the _audacity_ to smile, that bastard. Instead of explaining, the scientist turned back around and slid to the other end of the counter. He typed a few commands into his keyboard, pressed enter, then gazed at the new image on the screens. It was an outline of the human body, and a blinking red dot was stuck to the left calf.

"My shooter obviously didn't get a clear shot," Minyak sighed, "but he did get the shot. This," he rose to his feet and pointed to the red dot, "is my mind control technology."

Ray was red in the face now. "When I get out of here, _I swear to God Minyak_."

"You're less intimidating without your powers."

"I don't need powers to kick your ass!"

Minyak ignored him. "It'll take a few hours for the device to take full control."

Ray grit his teeth. With a heavy dose of venom, he spat out, "You're going to regret that."

"On the contrary," Minyak turned to meet Captain Man's eye, "I'm going to _enjoy_ watching your sidekick help me take over the world."

•••••

Her head turned at the gunshot. Hands grabbed her waist and pulled her behind a building. A duffel bag bounced against her side as she pressed her bag against a brick wall.

"Where are they?" she asked, turning her head to meet Spray Z's eye.

"Cross the street," he answered. "C'mon, let's go the long way." He grabbed her hand and yanked her in the other direction.

Curious, she peeked around the corner as she was being tugged away. She saw a familiar blond dressed in red and blue, and she stumbled to a stop.

"Ronnie, let's go," Spray Z said. "They'll see us!"

"Kid Danger's over there," she said, shaking her head.

"Who cares? Your boy got you arrested, remember? Forget about him."

Veronica squinted. Forget about him? She'd been trying for years to no avail.

He was on the ground, rolling back and forth and howling in pain. Veronica lurched forward before her brain could process what she was doing.

"Veronica!" Spray Z shouted.

"We have to help him!" she replied. "He's hurt!"

"So what?" Spray Z chased after her, grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "You've seen the posters. There will be more coming for him. If we stay, they'll catch us, too!"

Veronica stared, eyes wide and brows furrowed with worry. Spray Z was right, more would be on their way. They couldn't afford to get caught, not with the goods they were packing.

But she couldn't just leave him there. _He_ saved her once, let her get away even if just for a little while. How could she turn her back on him?

Veronica shoved the bag in his arms. "Take this back," she ordered. "I'll be right behind you." If she was going to get caught, at least the groceries she and Spray Z set out to snatch could make it back to the friends who needed them.

She turned and started across the road.

"You can't carry him on your own," Spray Z called.

"Well I'm fresh out of options since _you're_ not gonna help me," she replied, throwing a finger over her back for good measure.

She rushed to the boy's side, cradling his head in her hands as she looked him over. He was pale beneath that mask, and his eyelids were drooping shut. Veronica searched for any injuries. Her gaze fell on a dark red spot on his calf. It seeped through his pants and dripped onto the sidewalk.

"Spray Z!" she cried, turning her head to see if he was still there. Thankfully, he was, and he was making his way over. "He's been shot."

Veronica looked back at Kid Danger and pulled her bandana down. "Can you hear me?"

Kid Danger squinted. He rolled his head to the side and breathed her name. Then, his eyes fell shut.

Her stomach rolled. She cupped his cheek with her hand, fingers stroking the soft skin. "It's okay," she whispered. "We've got your back."

"Holy shit, Ronnie," Spray Z gasped when he neared.

"I'm gonna try and stop the bleeding," Veronica announced, yanking her bandana off her neck. "I need your help to take him back to the hideout."

Spray Z looked hesitant. "This isn't really our problem…"

"I don't care! We're not just going to leave him to die!"

She worked as fast as she could manage with trembling hands. She wrapped the bandana around his calf and pulled it tight. It wasn't the best solution, but it would due until they could get more help.

"I'll take the bags," she said.

Spray Z sighed. Veronica watched him step around Kid Danger and roll the boy onto his stomach. Then, he hooked his arms beneath the superhero's armpits, and Spray Z lifted the kid onto his feet.

"I can't believe we're helping him," Spray Z grunted as he grabbed one of Kid Danger's wrists. He squatted, wrapping his other arm around Kid Danger's thigh. Spray Z pulled the unconscious kid onto his shoulders and stood.

"You don't wanna be responsible for letting someone die, do you?"

"Captain Man's sidekick? Think I could live with it."

Veronica glared. "You hurt him between here and the hideout, and I'll shoot out your other eye."

Spray Z returned the glower, but he didn't argue. He knew she wasn't playing around.

"That's what I thought," she muttered. "C'mon, before others show up."

•••••

"What happened?!" Charlotte cried.

"Why can't we hear him?!" Jasper added.

"I don't know!" Schwoz answered, frantically typing commands into his keyboard. "My device must've destroyed his communications." He sighed, shaking his head. "I'm _too_ good at inventing things."

"But he's okay, right?"

Jasper, Charlotte, and Schwoz looked back at the twelve-year-old. Piper sat on her knees, peering over the back of the couch. She squinted at the screens, trying her best to hide her worry.

Charlotte shooed Jasper away while she and Schwoz got to work on finding Henry's signal. Jasper walked over to the couch and sat across from Piper.

"He's fine," he reassured. "He has hyper-motility, remember?"  
"Right," she said. "But like… He's not indestructible."

Jasper sighed. "Yeah, you're right. He likes to think he is sometimes, though."

"Really? He's an idiot."

"Yeah, sometimes. But he's super-fast so like, the bad guys can't even touch him!"

The corner of Piper's mouth twitched up, but she remained uneasy. Jasper frowned. He'd never seen her worry for her brother. Like, ever. She always seemed to be determined on making Henry's life as frustrating as possible.

Maybe it was because she was finally in on the secret, maybe she finally grasped how dangerous the life of Kid Danger actually was…

Jasper reached across the table. He grabbed her hand tentatively, waiting for her to shove him away. She didn't. He closed his hand around hers, and softly, he promised, "We're going to find him."

Piper took a deep breath. She nodded, seeming to believe him. Or maybe, she was just trying to believe him. Either way, she felt a bit better.

•••••

Kid Danger woke with a gasp.

A black-haired boy with neon green tips hovered over him. His nose and mouth were covered with a bandana to match his hair, and one of his eyes was covered with a black eyepatch. His fingers were above Kid's face, twitching with anticipation. Their destination? The superhero's mask.

The boy sat back on his feet. "Ronnie," he called, pulling the bandana down, "he's awake!"

"Yeah," Kid Danger replied, pushing himself up, "now get away from me."

The stranger raised an eyebrow. "And he's still a dick."

Kid Danger scowled after the boy. He hardly had time to take in his new surroundings before someone blocked his view. It was the girl from earlier, the pretty one with the blonde hair and blue eyes.

 _So, guess he wasn't hallucinating_.

"Veronica," he whispered. Whoa, she still looked good. Actually no, she looked better. Her hair was long and wavy, falling to her chest. Speaking of her chest— _No Henry, god, stop_.

"Hey Herbert," she greeted with a grin.

Kid Danger rolled his eyes. "Seriously? You're still calling me that?"

She shrugged. "What else do I call you?"

"Kid Danger?"

"Nah, too formal. If only I knew your real name…"

Kid cracked a smile. "Hah, in your dreams."

"Oh, c'mon." She trapped him between her hands planted on the mattress and leaned forward. "I think we've known each other long enough to be on a first-name basis."

Henry shifted away and averted his eyes. "I already know your name."

"Exactly; you owe me."

"This is different, and you know it."

Veronica tilted her head to the side and stuck her lower lip out in a pout. "Don't you trust me?"

Kid Danger tried, he really did, to not look at her lips, but his eyes fell to her pout, and he suddenly realized how much he missed kissing her. It would be so easy to just close the distance and-

 _No_. He shook the thought from his mind. _Cut it out_.

"So, ah, where are we?" he asked, looking away as he gazed around the room. A simple sweep with his eyes answered his own question: the movie theater. It was the one on main, the big one with reclining seats. Mattresses dressed in blankets and topped with pillows of different shapes and sizes were scattered across the lobby.

Veronica sat back on her heels. "The boys wanted to make camp at the movie theater, of all places. Though, I guess I shouldn't complain. I mean, free candy, popcorn, and movies? It was better than the mattress store Spray Z wanted to hideout in."

"Are all the Wall Dogs here?"

She hummed. "Yeah. After Minyak took over, the juvie guards were distracted, so we took our chance to run. A few minutes in the city was enough to know that things are bad. We had to find cover somewhere."

Kid Danger sighed. "Yeah, I know. Least you're not wanted by the whole city." He picked up a stray piece of popcorn and flicked it across the room.

Veronica pressed her lips together. "I heard about that. I always thought I'd be the one with a target on my head."

The boy didn't respond. His gaze fell to the fabric around his leg, torn in pieces and missing in some places. There was a bandage wrapped around the wound, spotted with dark splashes of red.

"Um," he said, "what happened to my leg?"

"You were shot."

"Kay, but what happened _after_?"

The corners of Veronica's lips twitched into a smile. "I know how it looks, but I promise they were just trying to get to the wound. I told them I was the only one allowed to take your pants off."

Henry shifted away, cheeks flushing.

"Ah okay, so did they get it out? The bullet, I mean."

She glanced at his leg and shook her head. "No. Max says it's more complicated than just digging it out."

"More complicated how?"

A young girl with brown hair suddenly walked around Kid Danger. She knelt next to the mattress and met his eye with a bored expression.

"It's attached itself to your nervous system," she explained, startling the boy. He looked around, wondering how she managed to sneak up on him.

Veronica smiled. "This is Max."

"So," Max began, carefully pealing back the bandage, "this is the weirdest bullet ever. I've never seen anything like this before."

Kid Danger watched the girl's face carefully. How was she so calm about something like this? Her dull, gray eyes swept over his injury slowly. She scrutinized every inch of the wound, and when her eyes squinted, he swore he could see the gears turning in her head.

He raised an eyebrow. "You have much experience with gunshot wounds?" He meant it as a joke, but his smile fell when she switched the blank look to him.

"That's none of your business."

"Okay…" Kid Danger sighed, staring at the ceiling. "Well, it's not a real bullet; it's a mind control device."

" _Oh_ … Yeah, I figured something was going on when we had to cut off those glasses wrapped around your leg. So, I can only guess that this thing is trying to take control through your nerves." She looked at him, eyes wide. "In other words, you need to get this thing out. _Now_."

"You can do that, right?" Veronica asked.

Max opened her mouth and closed it again. "I—I can try? I don't really have the tools—"

Kid shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I know a guy who can help."

"Really? Who?" Max raised her eyebrows, the smallest hint of excitement flooding her eyes.

He smiled sadly. "Sorry, top secret."

Veronica rose to her feet. "Okay, I'll take you. You'll die hobbling around out there on your own."

Kid wanted to object, but he knew it was a lost cause. He probably couldn't get to his feet without her help.

"Sorry I can't be more help," Max said with a sigh.

"Don't worry about it; you've done enough." He offered her a smile that she found difficult to resist. As she climbed to her feet, she flashed a quick grin before returning to her bed a few mattresses away.

"Okay," Veronica said, jumping to her feet, "you can walk, right?"

"My leg feels pretty numb."

"Well, I can't carry you. Hang on, let me grab Spray Z."

"No!" Henry caught her hand before she could run off. She jerked free as her cheeks burned. Kid Danger explained, "I can't risk anyone else finding out about my friend and where he's staying. It's bad enough that you're gonna know."

Veronica raised an eyebrow. "Is that anyway to talk to someone who saved your life?"

He frowned. "I'm sorry, okay? This is all just part of the secret identity thing."

She sighed, rubbing her eye. "Fine, but I'm not carrying all the weight here."

"Fine," he agreed. "But, um, can you help me up?" He flashed a grin when she rolled her eyes.

•••••

"Break," Veronica said. She stepped off the sidewalk and into the safety of a dark ally.

"I am not _that_ heavy, Veronica. We've only made it two blocks!"

"When only half of you is working, you _are_ that heavy!" she argued, shoving a finger into his chest.

Kid Danger looked away, so she wouldn't see him rolling his eyes. He gazed around the street, trying to figure out how much further they had.

"Okay," he said, turning back to her, "we're almost there."

Veronica sighed. "Where is there?"

"You'll see."

Kid leaned against the wall to catch his breath. His leg throbbed with every step they took, and he was pretty sure the wound was bleeding again. He couldn't wait to get to Schwoz, so he could finally get his leg back to normal.

"Hey," he said, suddenly remembering, "how old is Max?"

"Fifteen, why?"

He shrugged. "She just looked young. How'd she get messed up with you guys?"

That sounded like an insult, but Veronica smiled. "We met in juvie. She was arrested for pickpocketing and breaking and entering."

"At fifteen?"

Veronica nodded. "Yeah, it sucks. She never knew her mom, and her dad was tangled up with some bad guys. One day, they came for money he didn't have, and they shot him."

Kid Danger gasped. "That's why she—"

"Yeah. After her dad died, she researched medical procedures. She said she never wanted to watch someone die again. If she can help them, she's going to try her best."

Veronica leaned against the wall next to him. They didn't say anything for a moment, but both were aware at how close their shoulders were.

Kid Danger broke the silence, "She's too young to be in this."

"Yeah," Veronica agreed, "I guess, but I was fourteen when I first met Van Del. How old were you when you became Kid Danger?"

He cracked a smile. "Aha… Thirteen."

"See? We were younger than her."

Kid rubbed the back of his neck. "Looking back, being a superhero's sidekick was a lot of pressure at thirteen."

"Yeah, I bet."

"It was scary, too."

Veronica rolled her head to the side. She watched his eyebrows draw together as he reminisced.

"I took karate, so I could at least defend myself. I thought I was ready to take on bad guys, but sparring with kids is a lot different than fighting adults in the real world… And I didn't even have powers for a good bit of my career."

She blinked. "Oh yeah, I remember hearing about your hyper-motility on the news. Can't believe everyone thought you were dying." She snorted.

"Oh my god, _I know_! That was honestly the dumbest thing ever. My dumb sister was going to dump rocks on her head _on my behalf_." He scoffed and rolled his eyes.

Veronica raised an eyebrow. "Your sister… Was on the news for that, wasn't she?"

"Yeah, I think so? What does that have t—" He froze when she whipped out her phone. "Veronica." He reached for the phone, but she stepped out of the way with a cackle.

"Kid Danger Rock Box Dump," she announced, thumbs swiping across the screen. She poked her tongue in her cheek, and she glanced at him.

"Veronica, seriously," he tried again, leaning forward on his good leg. "It's a secret identity for a reason!"

"Oh! Is this it? 'Piper Hart—"

Kid Danger raised his wrist, took aim, and shot the phone out of her hand. It sparked and smoked, and the screen cracked against the concrete.

"You—" Veronica whipped her head between her charred phone and the boy who destroyed it. "What the hell?!"

Kid Danger lowered his hand. His face was cold, eyes dark beneath the mask. "This isn't a game, Veronica. I _can't_ tell you who I am. It's not because I'm playing hard to get or whatever… You can't just," he sighed. "That's my sister, man. You're a criminal, _technically_ ," he added when she rolled her eyes.

She frowned. "I wouldn't… You don't have to worry about that."

He clenched his jaw. "How can I trust you? You promised you'd stay out of trouble a few years ago, but we know how that turned out…"

Veronica rolled her eyes. "You can't stop an artist from expressing herself!"

"And you can't stop a sidekick from protecting his family."

They stared at each other. A beat passed. She took a step forward, pressing her lips into a smile. She stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, because that's what she always did when he got mad at her. It was a sure-fire plan, worked every time.

Or well, it used to. When she leaned toward him, he shifted away. He didn't blush, didn't even give in. Suddenly, she felt embarrassed. Veronica stepped back and turned her head to the side as her cheeks burned.

"Sorry," she muttered. "I… Sorry."

Kid Danger turned to the street. "We should get going."

"Okay."

She walked over, hooking her arm around his waist and his around her shoulders. With a deep breath, they stepped back out into the open.

They didn't talk the whole way back.

•••••

"Right here," Kid Danger said, pointing to a junk shop.

"Junk N Stuff?" she read, glancing at the sign above the door. "This is where your secret guy is?"

Kid Danger nodded. "Yeah. He's kind of a weirdo."

"Figured."

As they neared the front door, Kid fished a key ring out of his belt. There were only two keys, one bigger than the other. He grabbed the bigger one by the teeth and turned to Veronica.

"Thanks for getting me here," he said. "Sorry for… Frying your phone."

Veronica took a deep breath. "It's fine; I get where you're coming from. Sorry for trying to find your sister."

He didn't answer. He couldn't lie because it really wasn't fine. Veronica wasn't necessarily a threat, but what if someone else in the Wall Dogs found Piper? What if they used her to get revenge on him? Henry couldn't imagine somebody using Piper like that. He didn't want to.

"Can you make it inside?" she asked, half joking. "Need me to hold your hand?"

Kid laughed, and he was grateful. He had mixed feelings about her, but he didn't want to be mad. She wasn't all bad, he knew.

"No, I'm good. Thanks, though." He hobbled up the stairs, shifting all of his weight onto his good leg. After unlocking the door and pushing it open, he turned to wave awkwardly. "Be careful getting back. I'll… See you around?"

"Hopefully. See you, Herbert." She flashed a smile, and he returned it.

He stepped into the building and shut the door behind him. The dragon in the corner puffed a breath of fire to greet him. He welcomed the air conditioning with a deep sigh.

Now… He just had to make it to the elevator in one piece.

•••••

Piper's stomach leapt to her throat when the elevator crashed to the ground.

Charlotte and Jasper looked at each other.

Everybody froze.

The doors slid open, and Henry stumbled out. "Schwoz!" he cried.

Then, everyone jumped into action. Jasper and Charlotte raced to Henry's side, hugging his waist and helping him to the couch. Schwoz pushed through the secret door while mumbling something about grabbing the first aid kit.

Piper shifted in her weight as she looked over her brother. Sweat glistened against his forehead, but he looked exactly the same as when he left. If it wasn't for the bloody bandage wrapped around his calf, she would think he just got lost coming back.

"Oh my God, Henry," Jasper breathed. "What happened to you?"

Henry peeled his mask off and tossed it on the table. "I got shot."

"Who bandaged you up?" Charlotte asked.

The teen pursed his lip. "Uh… A Wall Dog?"

" _What_!?" they cried.

Henry drummed his fingers. "Veronica saved me."

"Oh my God," Charlotte groaned.

Piper frowned. "Who's Veronica?"

"Henry's ex criminal girlfriend!"

The secret door opened again. Schwoz rushed out, large duffel bag bouncing against his back. The teens scattered, pushing away from the injured boy to free up space. Schwoz knelt in front of Henry and worked fast.

"Schwoz," Henry said, drawing the man's gaze, "it's a mind control device. I don't have a lot of time."

Schwoz cursed in his native tongue and took a deep breath. "Okay," he said as he unzipped his bag. He withdrew a syringe filled with a clear liquid. Henry eyed it wearily.

"What's that?"

The man smiled reassuringly. "Don't move."

"Wait Schwoz, I don't feel comfortable with you—"

The needle dipped beneath Henry's skin, just above the bullet wound. Henry hissed and grabbed his calf as jolts of pain shot up his leg. Schwoz didn't flinch at the sudden jerk from Henry's end. The scientist slowly pushed the plunger down, and the kids watched the clear liquid disappear from the barrel.

"What'd you just inject me with?!" Henry yelled.

"Anesthetics."

"Oh. … Why didn't just _say_ that?!"

Schwoz shrugged.

Henry slumped against the couch with an eye roll.

The medicine took five minutes to kick in. Once Henry couldn't feel a needle jabbing at his skin, Schwoz set to work on getting the bullet out.

Meanwhile, Charlotte and Jasper investigated.

"How'd you get shot?" Jasper questioned. He slid around the table as Charlotte and Piper pushed their way in.

Henry sighed. "I was talking to Minyak, and I guess one of the minions snuck up behind me. Oh, but your invention worked, Schwoz. Maybe a little _too_ well considering we lost contact shortly after."

Schwoz hummed, mumbling something incoherent.

"How'd you get with Veronica?" Charlotte asked.

" _Who's_ Veronica?" Piper demanded.

"So," Henry began, drumming his fingers on the table, "you remember how you were saying I "went rouge" and attacked Captain Man?"

"Yeah?"

"She's the reason I, uh, went rouge."

" _Oh_. Oh! Is she the reason you sprayed Jasper?" A wide grin broke across her face. "Remind me to thank her, the sight of him covered in spray paint was _priceless_!"

Jasper was not amused. "Okay, okay, haha, can we move on?" He glared at the young girl.

A tiny smile tugged at Henry's lips as his gaze drifted back to his best friend.

"Right," Henry chuckled. "Um, I blacked out after they shot me. When I woke up, I was in the movie theater on Main Street. She and the other Wall Dogs are camping out there. Veronica helped me get back here."

Charlotte narrowed her eyes. "That was… Kind of her."

"She's not as bad as you think she is."

She wasn't convinced, but she didn't argue. Instead, "How'd she get with the Wall Dogs again? They were all in juvie."

Jasper frowned. "Wasn't she in juvie, too? I know Captain Man and Kid Danger raided Van Del's hideout."

Charlotte scowled at the sidekick. "No, because _Henry_ let her go."

"You _what_?" Even Piper couldn't believe it.

Henry glanced from his sister to his best friends. "I—She—I'm sorry!" he whined. "I just… I felt bad, okay?"

"You were _in love_ with her," Charlotte corrected.

"We dated, but I wouldn't call that love."

"What would you call it, then? She had you wrapped around her finger."

Henry shrugged. "Juvenile stupidity?"

Charlotte huffed. "That's _one_ way to put it."

"Char, the night I told you I'd end things between us, I meant it. I broke up with her, and we never saw each other again."

He was careful to leave out the part where Veronica was the Mad Granny, attacking Captain Man at every public outing. He hadn't mentioned that detail even when he reassured his boss that the attacker was no longer a threat. When asked how Henry knew the Mad Granny was finished, the boy simply shrugged and answered, "Saw it on TV."

Suddenly, another jolt of energy pulsed through his leg. Henry's chin tipped back, and his face twisted in pain as he cried out. His friends looked on in alarm.

"What's happening?!" Piper asked.

Schwoz leaned back and pursed his lips. "Hm."

Jasper tentatively grabbed Henry's arm. "You okay, bud?"

"It's trying to attach itself to his nervous system," Schwoz explained. He peered into the wound with wide eyes. "Interesting."

"Can you please study that thing after it's out of my leg?!" Henry wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "I can't have a lot of time left. It's trying to take control of my brain, remember?"

Schwoz nodded and grabbed a pair of tweezers from his kit. "Don't move," he warned again.

"Okay," Henry breathed.

Charlotte and Piper peered over the table to watch Schwoz. Henry told himself not to look, but he couldn't stop himself. Jasper had to settle with observing his friends' reactions to see what was happening.

For a moment, nobody moved. Schwoz dipped the tweezers into the wound. His eyebrows were drawn together, and his eyes were concentrated on the work in front of him. He was careful and precise, pinching the jaws of the tweezers around the bullet slowly. When he withdrew, Schwoz moved with a steady hand.

He dropped the bullet on a tissue beside him. With a grin, he met Henry's gaze. Then, they both smiled at each other.

"Thank you, Schwoz," Henry sighed. "You're a real-life saver."

Schwoz smirked. "Tell that to Ray next time he yells at me, eh?"

"Sure, buddy."

A silence fell over the group as Schwoz set to work on stitching up Henry's leg. Thankfully, the wound wasn't as bad as Henry anticipated. It only took about ten stitches to sew the skin back together. Schwoz warned to take things easy as he packed up his tools.

"So, what now?" Henry sighed. "We have something that works against Minyak's mind control device, but there's no way we'll deactivate the whole city with just the five of us."

Charlotte nodded. "We need help."

"From who?" Jasper asked. "If you wanna keep everything a secret, we can't tell anyone else."

Henry dragged a hand down his face. "Yeah, you're right. I mean, we could call in Veronica and some other Wall Dogs if we—" Charlotte's glare made him change direction with a sheepish grin, "Or, we could just figure something out together."

"The Wall Dogs are bad news," Charlotte reasoned. "We don't need their help."

Henry looked at his hands. He picked at his cuticles absently. A part of him wanted to ask for help, at least from Veronica and Max. Despite Kid Danger's history between them, Henry knew Veronica could be vital to their fight against Minyak.

His friends still needed convincing, though. Henry was fine with that. For now, they would worry about finding Ray and creating a better defense against Minyak.

Step by step, they're getting closer to taking back their city.


	7. chicken noodle soup

In the midst of a crowd gathering in the main hallway at school, Henry spotted Mitch's face grinning like a mad man above their classmates' heads.

Henry leaned against his locker with a sigh. There was a constant throbbing in his calf that won't go away no matter how many aspirins he took.

"Can't wait to hear this," he muttered, sharing a look with Jasper. Hopefully whatever dumb thing Mitch was planning could distract him from his healing bullet wound.

"Listen up dweebs!" Mitch shouted. "I've been given a job, and you're gonna wanna hear what it is!" He scanned the crowd with an evil grin. "If any of you morons try breaking the Supreme Boss' rules, you'll have to answer to me and the rest of the Boom Brothers."

Charlotte sighed. "The what now?"  
Three boys and a girl with a familiar face walked down the stairs and spread out in front of Mitch. Henry had seen the boys around the school, but he didn't really remember their names. The only thing he knew about the trio was that they hung around Mitch a lot. However, the girl was a different story.

Jasper nudged his elbow at Charlotte's arm. "Look, there's your best friend," he teased.

Charlotte rolled her eyes.

Even though Charlotte had made peace with Bish, that didn't mean she considered the bully a friend. More of an… Ally, if need be. Maybe that alliance could come in handy with whatever Mitch had planned for the Boom Brothers.

Bish's RBF was in full throttle as her dark eyes scanned the crowd her brother had drawn. Her gaze settled on a particular group hanging back, two boys and two girls. Bish's eyebrows shot up and she pushed through the crowd like a bulldozer.

"Oof, here she comes," Piper muttered.

Henry grabbed Charlotte's shoulders. "Char, go find stuff out."

"Fine, seeing as you boys are too scared," Charlotte smirked, throwing a knowing look over her shoulder.

"I'm injured," Henry defended at the same time Jasper cried, "She could eat me in one bite!"

Charlotte smacked his head. "Don't be rude," she warned.

Jasper slumped against the lockers. "Sorry."

"Charlotte!" Bish cried, pulling Charlotte into a bone crushing hug.

Charlotte took a deep breath. "Bish! Hey! Please let go!"  
Bish released the smaller girl with a cackle. She looked over the rest of the gang with a lighter expression than she was previously wearing.

Charlotte rocked on her heels. "So, what's the Boom Brothers?"

"Oh," Bish sighed, "it's just a group of my idiot brother and his friends hiding out in a firework shop."

Henry blinked. "A _what_? Why?"

Bish shrugged. "It was his weapon of choice."

"Fireworks," the superhero breathed. "He's given a teenager access to fucking fireworks…"

"To use on _us_ ," Jasper whispered, turning to his best friend with wide eyes.

Henry huffed. His hand fell to the gum dispenser in his pocket, and he glanced around for any adults. Why would Minyak work so hard to keep the kids in line if he was just planning to kill them off? It just didn't make any sense, and that made Henry uneasy.

Protecting the kids of Swellview was never the goal, not really. So long as everyone did what they were told, Minyak never posed a threat to the children. Henry had been focused on finding Captain Man and freeing the adults, but now he had a bigger problem to worry about.

Turning teens on teens? What kind of twisted plan was that?

Bish rejoined her brother, and the gang turned to Henry. Mitch bragging about his new title and the shiny badge he'd been given fell on deaf ears as they shared worried looks.

It was Charlotte who broke the silence, "It'll be harder getting around town now."

Henry shifted onto his good foot. "Yeah. When we're not trying to be captured, we'll be running for our lives from firecrackers."

"This is crazy," Piper whispered. " _Mitch_ is crazy. He's going to really hurt someone!"

A bell rang overhead. Teachers swarmed the halls, shooing everyone away to their first classes. Henry caught Mitch's gaze as the bully rounded the corner. It was mischievous with a wild glint.

Henry scowled and turned the other way.

"Let's head to Junk N Stuff after school," Charlotte sighed. "We need to come up with a plan."

The superhero shook his head. "No." His friends and sister looked at him. Henry continued, "This band of Boom Brothers is still new. They'll be on patrol for sure; it's too risky. Besides…" He looked away and winced. "I don't feel like making the walk today."

They glanced at the injured leg. His knee was bent; he wasn't holding any weight on it. Charlotte pulled her lower lip between her teeth.

"Oh yeah," she said, meeting his eyes once more, "how're you doing today?"

Henry shrugged. "Fine, I guess. It's sore, still hurts…"

"We don't have to go today," Jasper agreed. "I'm tired, if I'm honest."

Charlotte nodded. "Me too. I think we all need a five-hour nap when we get home."

Henry sighed, a dreamy smile on his face. "I'm hoping for nine."

Another bell rang. This time, a warning. One more, and they'll be late to class. The group slowly disperses, each heading to their respective classrooms. For the first time, nobody in the gang felt safe walking the halls by themselves.

•••••

Piper stumbled through the door and nearly dropped Henry in the process. He made a noise that sounded half like a groan, half like a chuckle.

Piper huffed. "I know you can walk, idiot."

Henry slumped over her shoulders and dragged his feet as she walked forward. Charlotte told her to help Henry into the house, and what kind of brother would he be if he didn't take any advantage he could?

"Yeah, but it hurrrrrts," he whined.

She rolled her eyes and contemplated dropping him where they stood. On one hand, he actually did get shot and he was still healing. On the other hand, though, he was really beginning to get on her nerves.

"You're lucking I'm helping you at all," she snapped.

Henry chuckled. "We're making up for all that bonding time we could've had after my missions. God knows I could've used someone helping me around the house after some nights."  
His sister paused in her struggle of clambering down the stairs. She glanced over her shoulder, the strain on her back momentarily forgotten.

"Have you been hurt like this before?" she asked softly.

"Yeah, but they always patch me up."

"Who's they? That creepy bald guy and Captain Man?"

"Hey, that creepy bald guy has saved my life a few times."

Piper dragged Henry to the couch. She carelessly tossed her brother off her back and smirked when he scowled at her.

"That is no way to treat your brother who was shot in the leg," he grumbled.

She ignored him and made her way to the kitchen. Her stomach was growling, and she was itching for some chocolate.

Piper went through three cabinets, opening and closing the doors with disappointment growing. Where was the food? What was she supposed to eat?  
"Henry," she called.

"What?"

"I'm hungry."

"So?"

"There's no food."  
Henry pursed his lips and looked toward the door. What were they supposed to do about food? It's not like they could walk out the door freely. Well, he could maybe step outside and ask one of Minyak's minions roaming the streets…

With a heavy sigh, Henry pushed himself up from the couch. He leaned on the arm for support until he was steady on his feet. Then, he limped his way into the kitchen.

"Is there anything in the freezer?" he asked, leaning on the island.

Piper walked over to the freezer, pulled open the drawer, and shook her head slowly. "Nothin'." She sighed.

Henry squinted. "Nothing in the cabinets? Macaroni? Soup?"

He could've sworn there was soup somewhere in the kitchen. He remembered his mom-

 _Oh_.

Wordlessly, he walked over to the fridge and pulled it open. There was a silver bowl on the second shelf. Henry placed it on the counter and peered through the lid.

Chicken noodle soup, only three days old. There wasn't much left, maybe enough for two. It was the last meal the siblings had had with their parents since everything happened.

"Grab some bowls. I'll warm this up," Henry muttered.

They worked silently. Piper grabbed two bowls from the dishwasher, and Henry dipped out the last of the soup with a ladle. After a few minutes in the microwave, they were sitting around the table and gently blowing the steam rising from their food.

Henry spoke softly, "I was arguing with mom when she was making this. I was trying to convince her to let me go to the concert."

Piper scoffed. "There was your first mistake. You're supposed to ask dad; he'll let us do anything."

"You know he'd never agree to anything without Mom's input."

"… Yeah."

Henry shook his head. "She said I had a responsibility at Junk N Stuff. God, I should've listened to her."

Piper stirred her soup absently. "If you had, you probably wouldn't be here right now."

Henry glanced at her.

She shrugged, a tiny grin reflecting in the soup. "But if you had, maybe you could've been taken instead of Captain Man, then at least we'd have a chance."

Her older brother scowled. "Hey, have some faith in me."

"I do." Piper met his gaze. "I've been looking up to Kid Danger for years. Everything you've done… It's incredible. I have faith, big bro."

The corners of Henry's lips turned up, and he dipped his spoon into the soup. "Thanks, Pipes."

For the rest of dinner, they spoke in short bursts. Mostly, Piper spent time on her phone. She complained about the lack of service, but her rant didn't last as long as Henry feared. She, surprisingly, sank back into silence and found a game to play until she'd finished her meal.

Henry hadn't thought about calling anyone on the outside for help. His team was already inside city limits, but now his mind raced with people he could've called for aid like the Thundermans or the Game Shakers (they couldn't provide much assistance, but they could at least get the word out that Swellview needed help).

Still, he shouldn't be surprised. If _he_ were going to take over a city and trap everyone inside, eliminating the cell phone service and internet would be his first move.

After dinner, Henry placed the bowls in the sink and began to head upstairs. He was too tired to do the dishes; that job could wait until tomorrow.

Piper paused as she rested on the first stair. She peered over the railing and watched her brother limp through the house, turning off lights and lamps as he went. Piper backtracked, stepping away from the staircase and toward the couch. She walked around to Henry's side and looped her arm around his waist. He may be bigger than her, but at least she could provide some support.

Henry smiled, and together, they headed upstairs for a much-deserved rest.

•••••

Across town, a dark figure approached the high school.

They dropped a duffle bag to the concrete by the front doors. They grabbed two metal cans and a step stoll from the bag and approached a blank wall. They had their cell phone at their feet, a bright picture glowing in the night. It was the symbol they were trying to paint.

With a deep breath, they pulled a mask over their nose and mouth. They climbed on the step stool, stretched their arms as high as they could manage on their tip toes, and began their work.

By morning, the message would be clear.

 _Game on._


	8. the swellview alliance

Previously on _Invasion_ …

The Boom Brothers made their great debut; Henry and Piper discussed their parents while eating the last meal they all ate as a family; someone vandalized the school.

And now…

* * *

Word about the graffiti marking the front of the high school reached Minyak an hour after school started. By the time he saw the black Captain Man logo for himself and ordered a few juniors to cleanup duty, the news had already spread across the district. The middle schoolers on the buses broke into cheers when they caught sight of the emblem spray painted across the brick. Of course, that drew the attention of the elementary kids, and then it destroyed any hope of keeping the secret from the other schools.

Henry had to hand it to whoever was responsible for the vandalism. In times of need, only one thing would really rile up the rest of Swellview's population. Although the past few days have been confusing and scary for every kid in town, that symbol was universally understood for one thing.

Not all hope was lost.

If that symbol showed up out of nowhere, that meant at least Kid Danger was still out there. That meant Minyak wasn't completely victorious. The uncertainty of whether Kid Danger would actually win never crossed the youths' minds. They were just so filled with this optimism that had been diminishing since the start of Minyak's reign that nothing else mattered.

By third period, the logo was no longer visible. The juniors didn't clean fast enough, so Minyak took matters into his own hands and covered it up with red spray paint. He was furious about whoever dared rebel against him.

Escaping without being spotted was harder that day than any others. Minyak was on a hunt for the culprit, so he interrogated anybody who came within ten feet of him. Two teachers flanked his sides, their dark glares scanning every inch of the hallway for suspicious activity.

When the questioning began just after second period, Charlotte decided to come up with a plan if their group got separated. The four teens agreed it'd be best for whoever didn't get caught to head on to Junk N Stuff. Since the students aren't allowed to hang out at each other's homes after school, it'd be too suspicious to wait for the others to leave the building.

"Wait, what if only one of us gets away?" Jasper asked in the midst of planning. "I can't survive out there on my own guys."

"Yeah, what if someone's singled out?" Piper added.

Charlotte and Henry looked at each other. Truthfully, any of them could probably make it to Junk N Stuff on their own, but they couldn't afford to take that chance.

"If someone's singled out, then we wait," Henry declared.

"We _can't_ wait," Charlotte argued. "Don't you think it'll look weird if three of us are hanging around the front doors while everyone else is heading toward the buses?"

"We can go out the back doors then! No man left behind, Charlotte."

Fortunately for them, Minyak only snagged Henry and Jasper when they were heading toward the door.

"You there!" Minyak exclaimed, pointing two fingers at the boys. He stepped in front of the teens and, while his teachers cornered Jasper and Henry, the girls carried on without a word.

As they were leaving though, Charlotte paused to look at the boys over her shoulder. She caught Henry's eye, and the boy offered a smile with no teeth.

 _We got this_ , it said, and also, _so do you_.

Minyak crossed his arms over his chest. Henry's thumb rested on the top of his bubblegum dispenser.

"Either of you know anything about the vandalism outside?" the man asked, dark eyes darting from one boy to the other.

"Well," Jasper answered before he could really think about what he was going to say, "I think you did it, sir."

Henry elbowed his best friend in the side.

Minyak stepped forward slowly, the muscles along his jawline clenching and unclenching. After the day he'd had with a rebellious attack and insubordinate teenagers talking back with the newfound confidence from said attack, the only thing he really wanted to do was strangle someone.

There was no rule saying he couldn't kill this boy anyway. He never swore to keep Swellview's children safe; he had just left them alone (for the most part) because, what was the point of enslaving them? Children were good for nothing until they graduated high school and finally did something with their lives.

Before he could get too close, Henry was there. He stepped in front of Jasper and shoved Minyak back. He hadn't meant to, but the villain was too close, and it was kind of an instinct.

A teacher grabbed Henry's wrist and slammed him into the lockers. She pinned him to the lockers and pressed his captured arm between his shoulder blades. Henry struggled beneath her grip, squirming helplessly with his face smashed against the cold metal.

"You'd be wise to think before you act," Minyak advised. The corner of his mouth twitched into a smirk as he watched the boy fight.

"Sorry," Henry mumbled. "You were coming after my friend."

Minyak looked over the boys thoughtfully. "You were part of the group my men found a few days ago, weren't you? The ones who came into the city Monday?"

Had it really only been a short time since Monday? Henry tried counting up how long Minyak had reigned over Swellview so far.

 _It started Monday, and today is Thursday_ …

Four days. Not even a week. The idea exhausted Henry. Four days wasn't a lot of time in the long run, but those first seventy-two hours felt like an eternity to the kids of Swellview.

Jasper nervously played with his hands. "Y-Yeah…"

The man rubbed his chin as he looked to the ground. He'd been mulling over how Kid Danger managed to slip through his fingers and fall off his radar, but something about the behavior from that boy against the lockers caused Minyak to view his thoughts in a new light.

What if Kid Danger didn't disappear and hide out once Minyak conquered the city, but simply wasn't there to begin with?

Minyak's eyes flickered back to the boy pinned against the lockers.

"Let him go," he ordered.

The teacher released Henry and stepped away from him. Henry slowly uncurled his arm from behind his back and rolled his shoulder to ease the aching in his shoulder blades.

Jasper and Henry watched Minyak wearily. The man returned their stares with a dark glare and unreadable smirk. It made the boys uneasy. Why was he smirking? What was he planning?

"You boys have a good day now," Minyak muttered as he brushed past him.

Henry and Jasper stood still for a moment, even after Minyak had disappeared around the corner.

"That was weird," Jasper finally commented.

Henry nodded. "Definitely."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Let's get out of here before he comes back."

Jasper nodded frantically. The less time he could spend in the same building as Minyak, the better.

As the boys made their way toward Junk N Stuff, Minyak was retreating to the principal's office. He had a few minions to summon and allies to call.

•••••

It was only when Piper and Charlotte were a block from their school did Piper voice her concerns, "Was it really a good idea to leave them like that?"

Charlotte pressed her back to the side of a building and peeked around the corner. While she searched for any signs of life, she answered, "They can take care of themselves."

"Even Jasper?"

"… Henry can take care of _both_ of them."  
Piper snickered.

"The coast is clear. Let's—"

"Well, well, well."

Charlotte's shoulders tensed. Piper's breath caught in her throat.

"What do we have here?"

The girls spun in unison to face the enemy behind them. The voice was unfamiliar, but Charlotte had definitely seen them around school before.

Two boys stood before them; Charlotte recognized them from the Boom Brothers. She hadn't had a class with them since middle school, though. There were only a few obvious things she remembered about them: They're fraternal twins, their names rhyme (Aiden and Kaden), and they've had the same mean streak since the sixth grade. Even though Charlotte didn't see them much anymore, she sure heard about them. Aiden held the record for most fights in a single year, and his younger brother was only in second place because he was home sick that day.

Aiden and Kaden shared the same gray eyes and hooked nose, but Aiden's hair was shaved down to a dirty blond buzzcut, and Kaden's was dark brown and long enough to pull into a bun on top of his head. They were both tall and lean. You wouldn't be able to tell they spent their time fighting others based on the lack of muscles in their biceps, but their constantly bruised skin and cracked knuckles spoke volumes.

Aiden stepped forward. There was a smug smirk on his face, and it made the girls uneasy.

"Charlotte Page, it's been a while."

Piper glanced at Charlotte out of the corner of her eye. "Friends of yours?" she whispered.

"Not really," Charlotte answered with the shake of her head.

"What are you doing out here, alone?" Kaden asked. He stepped around his brother and toward the girls. He grinned wickedly. "Don't you know it's dangerous out here?"

Charlotte narrowed her eyes. Her gaze never left Kaden as he circled around and stopped in front of Piper. He didn't block their way out, good. Maybe if they time it correctly, they can make a break for Junk N Stuff.

"Yeah, um…" Charlotte squeezed her hands. "We're just, uh…" What _were_ they doing? They weren't anywhere near a grocery store or anything that would be a plausible reason.

Charlotte racked her brain to remember how close they were to Junk N Stuff. Three blocks, she was pretty sure. They weren't far, if they could just get away from these guys…

"You know, we're supposed to report any stragglers we find on the streets," Aiden said, sharing a look with his brother.

"But we're not doing anything wrong!" Piper cried. "Can't you just let us off with a warning or something?"

"Sorry shrimp," Kaden teased. "That's not allowed."

Piper glared. " _Don't_ call me shrimp."

The girls took two steps back, and the boys followed them for one. Charlotte and Piper glanced at each other, and Charlotte motioned with her eyes toward the street.

A beat passed, and then the girls bolted.

One of the boys yelled in surprise.

Charlotte pumped her arms back and forth, as fast as she could manage. She looked to her right to see if Piper was catching up; the thirteen-year-old was a few steps behind, but close enough.

Three blocks. That was all they had to run. With the adrenaline pumping through her veins, she was sure they could manage.

Piper stumbled. She gasped and waved her arms, desperately trying to maintain balance. Charlotte looked back at her and thrust a hand out to steady the girl. Piper regained her footing and pushed forward.

One block left. Charlotte could feel her insides burning. With all the training she'd been doing with Ray and Henry, you'd think she'd be better at physical activity like this. She longed to take a seat on the curb and catch her breath, but she could hear the boys' footsteps closing in on them. They were close, she knew.

They could be right on top of her, and she wouldn't even know.

Piper was the braver (or dumber, depending on how you want to look at it) of the two. When they'd crossed the first intersection, she chanced a peek over her shoulder. She just wanted to see how much harder they needed to push themselves. For all they knew, they could've left the boys in the dust back there!  
She slowed just a bit to glance over her shoulder, and that was her downfall.

Kaden was there, a lot closer than she had been anticipating. He grabbed her upper arm and forced her to a stop. He barely flinched when the girl thrashed in his arms, beating his chest and ordering him to _let her go_.

Charlotte heard Piper yelling, but she had no time to react before a heavy force collided with her. A strong grip wrapped around her body, a hold at her neck and another capturing her arms at the waist.

"I can't believe you actually tried to outrun us," Aiden sneered in her ear.

Charlotte's breathing was irregular. Her lungs were burning, and her legs felt like jelly. She didn't want to fight back; she didn't _want_ to do anything but collapse on the ground and maybe down two bottles of water.

She jabbed her elbow into his side as hard as she could. His grip around her body loosen; she was able to move. Charlotte turned in his arms, grabbed his shoulders, and kneed him in the groin.

Aiden collapsed to the ground and curled in a ball. He groaned in pain and rolled back and forth, muttering under his breath.

Charlotte didn't _want_ to fight, but she had to. Henry and Ray weren't around to save her, and that was the exact reason she wanted to be trained in the first place. Over the years, she knew how dangerous working so close to Captain Man and Kid Danger could become, and she didn't want to have to rely on their protection.

Piper stomped on Kaden's foot. When the boy jolted and hissed in pain, Piper tore her wrist free of his grasp, spun around, and punched him in the face. It may not have been hard enough to inflict lasting damage, but she managed to surprise him and get away before he could regain his composure.

"Nice job, Piper!" Charlotte cheered.

The thirteen-year-old grinned despite the throbbing in her knuckles. She turned with a grin to see how Charlotte managed, but her face fell when she caught the movement over Charlotte's shoulder.

"Behind you!" she cried.

Charlotte frowned. "Wha—"

She barely registered the dark figure out of the corner of her eye. There was hardly time to blink before something connected with her cheek, and then she was on the ground.

The sky was spotless. It was a blank canvas of baby blue. Charlotte blinked. She never noticed how pretty it was.

Piper stood in a defensive stance in front of Charlotte. She was the only thing between her friend and the boys closing in for another attack. Her hands trembled. Did she have enough strength to protect herself and Charlotte from these thugs? Maybe not. Was she going to try anyways? _Of course_.

Two lasers shot through the air, and the twins collapsed on the ground.

Piper gasped, even though she really shouldn't be surprised because Swellview's beloved hero always had a habit of showing up at just the right time.

"Took you long enough!" Piper cried, waving a hand at her brother and friend racing toward them.

She turned to help Charlotte, but she was met with the older girl climbing to her feet.

"Are you okay?" Piper asked, reaching a hand out to grab Charlotte's arm.

Charlotte nodded slowly. She started to respond, but then the boys cut in.

"Charlotte!" Jasper cried.

"Piper, thank god," Henry breathed. "What happened? Are you hurt?" He looked them over, searching for any signs of injury.

Charlotte touched her cheek. Despite standing after her attack, Aiden was noticeably weaker than before. The hit to Charlotte's face was only strong enough to knock her to the ground. The area throbbed and was sure to bruise later, but it was tolerable. She would live.

"We're okay," Piper answered. She held her right hand up and showed off the red patches over her knuckles. "Not to brag, but we were pretty awesome back there."

Jasper rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you really looked like you had it handled."

Charlotte looked him over. "Why're you dressed as Kid Danger?"

Jasper and Henry looked at each other.

Henry nodded toward Junk N Stuff. "C'mon, we gotta talk."

•••••

 _Ten Minutes Earlier_

"It's weird that we're supposed to graduate in a few weeks," Jasper commented. He and Henry had just turned a corner away from school, and they could already breathe easier.

"Yeah. You think this will go on for that long?" Henry asked, glancing at Jasper then over his shoulder. The boys were on a sidewalk, but they stayed close to alleyways in case they needed to get out of sight quick.

"I hope not. It's bad enough we have to go till the first week of June, but I'll kill myself if we go any longer."

Henry shrugged. "Well, at least we're not doing anything. Schoolwork, anyways." He sighed. "I wish we could leave this to somebody else, though. I know our parents are brainwashed, and we're on constant watch 24/7, but things would be a lot easier if it wasn't up to us to fix things."

"Hand over the gum; I'd _happily_ take your place."

"Really? You'd take over knowing the _whole city_ would be targeting you?"

Jasper rubbed his arms sheepishly. "When you put it like that, it _does_ sound pretty scary… But yeah. Even without Captain Man, you still manage to give people hope. Everybody at school couldn't stop talking about you today!"

Henry smiled halfheartedly. He had to admit, overhearing his classmates talk about how _sure_ they were Kid Danger would stop Minyak made his heart swell. Often times, the only chatter he heard about his alter ego was accompanied by Captain Man. Don't get him wrong, he was perfectly fine with letting Ray run the show; he only cared about helping Captain Man win the fight. Still, it was kind of nice to not hear Kid Danger and 'sidekick' in the same sentence for once. It was like Henry was the main character for once, and even though having all this weight on his shoulders terrified him, it was still pretty cool.

"I guess so," Henry mumbled. "That was pretty crazy hearing people talk like that."

He tilted his chin up and glanced at a building they were passing. It was the karate studio he used to take lessons at. Ever since he got his super power though, he found less reasons to attend the classes. He could dodge any attack and was skilled enough to knock somebody out. What else was there to learn?

"I know!" Jasper agreed. "I can't believe the life of a superhero's sidekick is _so_ difficult."

Henry spun on his heel, ready to argue and claim the job wasn't as easy as it looked, but then a man jumped out of an alley and lunged at the boys.

The sidekick pushed Jasper out of the way before the man could land a hit. Jasper scrambled behind Henry as Henry dodged another punch to his face. Henry retaliated with a left hook to the man's side.

"I know this guy," Henry breathed, stepping back to create distance between the two.

Jasper stared, eyes wide. "You do?! Who is he?!"

"Mr. Martin." Henry raised his hands to deflect a kick to his side. "My karate instructor."

Mr. Martin was a middle-aged man with thin brunet hair, bushy eyebrows (it took Henry weeks to face him without laughing) and a crinkled nose. He could definitely rival Ray in height and strength, but the man was one of the nicest people Henry had ever met.

"Can you beat him?" Jasper asked.

Henry bounced on the balls of his feet. He clenched his hands into fists and held them in front of his body. This would be a tricky fight, he knew. Every time he sparred with Mr. Martin, Henry was always the one hitting the mat and stepping out of bounce. He had never won against the man.

"Yeah, sure," Henry muttered.

As Mr. Martin advanced toward the boys, another figure appeared around the corner and charged at them.

Jasper yelled in surprise and took off running across the street. Henry tried chasing after him, but Mr. Martin blocked his path. Henry glanced between Jasper running for his life and Mr. Martin. He knew there was only one way he'd be able to reach his friend.

"Okay Mr. M," Henry breathed. "Let's go."

Mr. Martin swung first, throwing a fist to Henry's face. Henry blocked with his hand and twisted the man's arm around, then he kicked his foot into his instructor in the chest.

Henry moved faster than he had before, dodging and attacking without thinking about his next move. He moved purely on instinct, raising his arms to block a strike to his right, retaliating with a kick from his left, and he barely blinked between moves.

Mr. Martin was fast; Henry had to give credit where credit was due. He wasn't as fast as Henry of course, but the man managed to block more strikes than anybody Henry's ever fought against. This man was as skilled as Henry, and then some. He had years of experience under his belt, and faster reflex times wasn't going to defeat him that easily.

Henry heard gunshots from his right. For just a second, his eyes darted across the road because he knew that was the direction Jasper ran toward.

Fighting had become second nature to Henry. He'd spent the last four years learning from Mr. Martin and sparring with Ray and Bork. What to do and what not to do was engraved into his brain; he could recite the guidelines by memory.

But when someone was in trouble, whether it be a friend or just another civilian, everything he knew disappeared, and his focus zeroed in on that person. Even if his attention was divided just for a second, a distraction was his downfall.

Literally.

Henry's feet were swept out from under him. He crashed to the concrete with a thud and groaned.

Mr. Martin was suddenly standing over him. When Henry looked up, he was met face-to-metal with the barrel of a gun aimed straight between the eyes.

Jasper was just passing Glass from the Past when a strong grip grabbed his shoulders and pinned him against the building. He screamed and raised his hands to block his face.

"Don't shoot!" he cried. "Spare me, please!"

His attacker didn't respond. Jasper peeked through the gaps between his fingers, and his breath caught in his throat. There was a gun aimed _right_ in his face! It was so close, Jasper could tilt his head forward and touch the barrel.

Was this really how things were going to end? He always imagined he'd be defeated after a really cool showdown between him and his opponent. That was how things always went for Henry and Ray (except they were rarely defeated).

Movement beside the man's elbow drew Jasper's attention. Henry was across the street, engaged in a battle with attacks so fast that Jasper could hardly tell what was happening. Even without the mask, Henry was a badass fighter. There was no doubt in Jasper's mind that Henry could take down any opponent put in front of him.

The gun in Jasper's face clicked. Jasper was drawn back to his own situation, and he suddenly remembered how utterly screwed he was. There was no escape for him. He couldn't just throw a few punches and knock this guy down so easily. He wasn't trained in fighting… He wasn't trained in anything.

He was going to die. Or, well, be brainwashed. Neither sounded like fun. Either way, this was the end of the line for him.

 _You know what? No._ He shook his head. Jasper _refused_ to let things end like this.

He didn't know the basics of fighting. He didn't know the proper way to hit someone or the best place to aim when corner or any of that junk. What he _did_ know, though, was that there was a gun in his face, and his hands were free.

Jasper punched the guy's wrist and knocked the gun out of his grasp. Then, he charged forward, whaling on the man with as much strength as he could muster. He backed the man into the street and, when he had enough distance to get away, he bolted.

The guy was hot on his trails, firing off the gun randomly. Jasper covered his ears with his hands and ran in zig zags until he could duck into an ally.

The ally was refuge for a hot second until Jasper realized he was cornered with absolutely no weapons or means of defense. The only thing residing in the ally were a couple of metal trashcans and empty syringes.

When Jasper spun around to face the mouth of the ally, he squeaked in surprise at the figure blocking his view. The guy who tried shooting him was reloading his gun. It was only a matter of time before he was ready to take aim again. Jasper needed a plan or a defensive strategy or _something_!

His eyes fell to the trashcans.

The gun clicked shut, and the man pressed the hammer down.

Jasper and his attacker moved in unison. When the first bullet was shot, Jasper dove behind the trashcans. The second bounced against the metal and ricocheted somewhere else. He found the vibration through the trash can. A third made him shudder.

He needed to get out of there and take this guy down!

With trembling fingers, he reached a hand up and touched the lid handle atop the trashcan. Before he could grasp it, a fourth bullet landed right next to his hand, and he withdrew quickly. _That_ was too close for comfort. He felt the wind from the bullet against his skin.

I have to be fast about this. He waited a few seconds, took a deep breath, counted to five. In a swift motion, he leapt to his feet, snatched the lid off the can, and pressed it to his chest.

Then with a battle cry, he charged.

It was only when he was right on top of the guy did he realize the open fire had ceased. Jasper peeked over the top of the lid. That was also when he realized that the guy was no longer standing.

His attacker was out cold on the ground before him. In his place stood four teenagers, and Jasper recognized one of them.

"What… What are _you_ doing here?"

Across the street, Henry kicked the gun out of Mr. Martin's grip. He was on his feet before Mr. Martin could retrieve his weapon, and he attacked tenfold. Henry needed to end this, so he could check on Jasper.

Mr. Martin was clearly running low on stamina. Fighting against someone with enhanced reflexes wasn't easy, even if you were a black belt in karate.

Henry actually managed to land a few hits to the man's side and shoulder. He finished the fight with a punch to the face, and he sighed with relief when Mr. Martin finally fell over, out cold.

There weren't a lot of people who could actually put up a fight against Henry with his new power. It was actually kind of fun to go all out in a match. When this was all over, Henry decided he'd revisit his karate instructor.

Henry took two steps toward the road as he scanned for life on the other side. To his surprise, there was a group gathered in an ally across from him. He had a sinking feeling Jasper was somewhere in the mix.

After stepping behind the karate studio and transforming into Kid Danger, Henry jogged across the street to join the fun.

"We just saved your life," someone said as Henry approached. "You're supposed to thank us."

"Hey, hey," Henry called, shoving his way through the crowd. He broke through the teens and turned to face them. "What's going on here?"

Veronica and Spray Z stood at the front of the group. Valerie smirked and nodded at him while Spray Z scowled.

"Nothing much," Veronica answered with a shrug. "We just saved this guy's life."

Henry glanced over his shoulder at Jasper. His best friend was holding a trash can lid for some reason.

"I had the situation handled!" Jasper defended.

Veronica raised an eyebrow. "Friend of yours?"

Henry pressed his lips together. "Yeah. Thanks for helping him."

"No problem. Always happy to help." Veronica smiled, but it wasn't friendly. It was a mixture of sarcasm and flirtation. "Try and stay out of trouble, will you?"

With that, she turned to leave. Spray Z and the others began to follow her lead.

"Um, speaking of help," Henry began without really realizing what he was saying.

Veronica paused and looked back at him.

He met her eye. "What would you say about maybe… Forming an alliance?"

Jasper was by his side immediately, smacking his arm and reminding quietly, "You _know_ how Charlotte feels about them!"

Henry ignored him. "Look, we're on our own out here. I'm willing to bet you guys want Minyak gone as badly as we do, huh?"

"Not necessarily," Spray Z argued. He smirked. "He's better than Captain Man."

The sidekick raised an eyebrow. "Really? You guys have to sneak around just like we do. If someone catches you, you're dead. Minyak will take out anybody who doesn't fall in line."

"Why the hell should we help you out?" somebody behind Veronica asked. "You helped lock us up!"

Henry opened his mouth and closed it again. He had forgotten about the other Wall Dogs who probably held a grudge against Captain Man and Kid Danger. How was he supposed to convince them to cooperate?

"Um, well… We're the only chance you've got." Henry glanced at Veronica briefly before his gaze rested on a light post across the street.

"Not only do you have Minyak's zombies to worry about, but now there's a new group of reckless teenagers patrolling the streets. The longer this goes on, the more outnumbered we all are."

"Okay so," Veronica began, taking a step forward, "we stop Minyak, save Captain Man, and then you guys send us back to juvie? No way, sorry."

Henry gnawed on his lip. "Maybe we can work something out."

They needed this; Henry knew it. Things were easy when there was an indestructible man on their side. Nothing could stop them from saving the city. Without Ray though, everybody was a target. Henry was fast, but even he couldn't save himself from being shot. If they were going to pull this off and stop Minyak, they needed help.

"If you guys agree and we stop Minyak, I'll make sure you won't be sent back to juvie."

Jasper smacked his arm, and Henry winced this time. " _Dude_!"

"Bro," Henry warned. He knew what he was doing. Well not really, but it made him feel better to think he did.

Henry stuck a hand out. "Do we have a deal?"

Veronica turned to her friends. Some muttered quietly while others shared looks with meaning only they'd understand.

Jasper couldn't believe what Henry had just promised. These guys were _criminals_! If this had anything to do with Henry still having the hots for Valerie, enhanced reflexes or not, Jasper would punch Henry in the face.

After a minute, Veronica stepped forward with her arms crossed over her chest.

Henry offered a smile showing all of his teeth (because she used to love his smile once).

It took everything in her not to smile back. She managed to keep her face neutral as she reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Deal."

* * *

now. now the _real_ fun begins.

i'm sorry for the super late update. december was a really rough month for me, and i'm just beginning to climb out of the funk i was in. things are getting better. i think i beat my writer's block! and wow, finally because i am so freaking excited to share with you guys what i have planned for this book. i wrote a small, not detailed outline and at the moment, there's 22 chapters... there will probably be around 30 to finish the story.

 **edit** : i finished my outline, and guess what? this thing's got roughly 43 chapters over all :)) we're just getting started folks.

hope you guys are still with me and enjoying the book! stay tuned :)

also, did anybody notice the show and i accidentally went on hiatus after ending with the same cliffhanger line: _game on_.? i thought that was neat.

(ps i can't believe you first responders read the last bit with 'Valerie' instead of 'Veronica' and you just let me do it xD )


	9. jasper

Warning: there's a lot of running in this & i'm awful at writing those scenes

Song: _Run Boy Run by Woodkid_

* * *

There was a full moon shining through the shop windows during the first Swellview Alliance meeting.

After the Wall Dogs saved Jasper in the street and decided to form an alliance with Kid Danger, the groups agreed to meet at midnight Friday night to discuss further plans. As decided by Kid Danger, the rendezvous location was at Glass from the Past, the halfway point between the two groups' home bases.

Team Danger arrived first. They consisted of Jasper, Charlotte, Piper, and Kid Danger. There had been a lot of back and forth bickering between Charlotte and Henry before he finally convinced her to agree. She was still wary about the whole thing, but he managed to drag her out and meet, so that was a win in his book.

A few minutes after midnight, the Wall Dogs arrived. There were three of them: Veronica, Max, and Spray Z. They dressed in dark colors, and Max had a backpack on.

"Hey," Kid Danger greeted.

"Hey," Veronica replied with a smirk.

Kid Danger looked from his friends to the Wall Dogs. "So, um, I guess we can call this meeting to order? I don't… How do we start? Do we go around introducing ourselves or—"

"We ain't in kindergarten," Spray Z growled. "Let's just get this over with before someone catches us."

"If we're going to be working together, don't you think we need to know each other's names?" Charlotte shot back.

"I'll start," Max volunteered before a fight could break out. She raised her hand. "I'm Max. I'm fifteen."

"Hi Max," the group replied.

"We sound like an AA group," Veronica muttered.

"I'm Spray Z," Spray Z introduced, shoving his hands in his hoodie pocket. "I'm eighteen. Kid Danger shot my eye out."

"Mmmmm, no I didn't," Kid Danger argued. "You took my laser; it was your fault."

"I'm Veronica," Veronica interrupted before a fight could break out. She stepped between the arguing boys and threw a look at Kid Danger. "I'm seventeen. Your turn," she said.

"Well, I'm Kid Danger," he said, rocking on his heels.

"Yeah, no shit," Spray Z scoffed.

"Knock it off," Veronica warned.

Charlotte waved. "Hey, I'm Charlotte. Seventeen."

"I'm Jasper," Jasper said, glaring at the Wall Dogs. "Seventeen. You may remember me as the boy you _attacked_ and _sprayed_!"

Spray Z raised an eyebrow. "I've never seen you before, dude."

"Wait, yeah, I remember you. You're the herbert this herbert painted," Veronica realized with a snort, pointing from Kid Danger to Jasper. "That was funny."

"It was not funny! The paint broke me out in hives!" Jasper cried.

"Shh!" Charlotte and Kid Danger shushed. Charlotte coaxed Jasper back onto their side.

Piper smiled without her teeth. "And uh, I'm Piper. Thirteen."

Veronica and Kid Danger looked at each other.

Charlotte raised an eyebrow at the exchange.

"I guess we can start this now," Kid Danger declared.

Spray Z raised an eyebrow. "So, you have a plan to take this creep down?"

Kid Danger rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Not exactly."

"Then what the hell was the point of this meeting!"

"Shut it!" Veronica hissed, smacking her friend's chest. "Someone will hear you!"

"The point was to meet up and discuss a plan. Anybody have any ideas?" Kid looked around the group for answers.

Nobody had a suggestion, but Max did have something to say. She stepped forward and slid the bag off her back.

"I brought a peace offering, kind of," she announced. She knelt next to her bag, unzipped it, and pulled two devices out. They were black matching walkie-talkies. When she stood, she handed one to Veronica. "I figured we'd need a way to keep in touch, so I picked these up on our way home today." She walked across the floor and handed the other to Kid Danger.

"Thanks," he said with a smile.

"Yeah, no problem. They're battery powered, so you don't have to worry about charging them. Their range is twenty miles, so we'll always be able to talk."

Veronica nodded. "Good idea, Max."

Max smiled. "Thanks."

Suddenly, a spotlight swept through the streets. Charlotte nudged Kid Danger's arm and pointed toward the light while Piper asked, "What is that?"

The Wall Dogs turned just as another light grazed over the block.

"It's a search light," Veronica announced.

"Shit, we need to hide!" Spray Z cried.

The group dispersed, scrambling behind counters and shelves to take cover from whoever was outside. Piper and Jasper dove behind the front desk. Spray Z and Max ducked behind a shelf. Kid Danger knelt beside a display case. Veronica and Charlotte found themselves pressed between the wall and a shelf across from Spray Z and Max.

Nobody spoke. Nobody moved.

A white light flooded the store. The teens held their breaths as their hiding spots were drowned out by the blinding glare.

It disappeared as soon as it appeared. After a few seconds, Kid Danger peeked around the display case.

"They're gone," he whispered.

Everyone stepped out, and the tension eased a bit.

Charlotte and Veronica glanced at each other as they rejoined their friends. They never spoke a word.

"We should head back," Charlotte suggested. "That was way too close."

"Yeah, you're right," Kid agreed. He turned back to the Wall Dogs. "We'll contact you when we have a plan."

Veronica nodded. "Okay."

"Be careful getting back," Jasper called as they headed toward the door.

"Don't tell me what to do," Spray Z grumbled.

Jasper scowled. He waited until the others were gone before he complained, "I hate him."

"Me too," Henry agreed with a laugh, "but we have to tolerate them. At least for a little while."

"C'mon," Charlotte said, nodding toward the door, "we need to go home. I'm tired."

The first Swellview Alliance meeting was ended abruptly by Minyak and his brainwashed zombies.

It was surprising then, but as the kids would soon learn, a lot of things ended that same way.

•••••

On weekends, Jasper usually liked staying up late and sleeping until noon. It was his favorite (and only) Saturday routine. He enjoyed spending hours on his computer watching YouTube video after YouTube video until he somehow ended up on the Weird side of the website and learned how to croquet a scarf with his toes.

This weekend was different, though. After Team Danger turned in for the night following the first Alliance meeting, Jasper was too tired to even try getting on his computer (even though he _knew_ there was no Internet, he still had the tiniest bit of hope). He passed out on his couch and didn't move until morning.

Normally, he woke up on Saturdays to his mom screaming at the neighborhood cat to stop peeing in her bushes.

This time, he woke up on his own to the soft chirping of birds. It was kind of peaceful. A quick glance at his phone told him that it was nine in the morning. It was a strange feeling being up this early and not being tired.

 _Is this what it feels like to get a full eight hours of sleep?_

Jasper rolled onto his back and held his phone above his face. He unlocked the screen and went straight to the group chat between him, Charlotte, and Henry.

 **Hey** , he typed, **anyone awake?**

He busied himself with playing games on his phone. But then, a few minutes turned into ten, then twenty, then he found himself dozing off.

Jasper woke up half an hour later to a blank screen. Surely someone was awake now? It was eleven. They were usually up by then.

There was a red exclamation point next to his message. He groaned loudly.

"Stupid Minyak," he grumbled, "shutting off our cell service."

Well, it looked like he'd have to walk down to Junk N Stuff by himself. Or maybe he could sneak into Henry's house and see if they're awake.

Jasper stared at the ceiling a few minutes longer before finally pulling himself up. He turned on a music app and cranked the volume all the way up. He moved around the house with the Cha Cha Slide and the Cupid Shuffle. While waiting for his frozen lunch to heat up, he belted the lyrics of his favorite songs.

Around eleven thirty, he was dressed, no longer hungry, and ready to go. Just before he stepped outside, he paused his music and was engulfed in a heavy silence again.

Jasper gazed around his house. There was never a quiet moment in his home. His mom usually always had a TV or radio on, or she was on the phone with her boss or sister, or she was shouting out the window to the old man next door. Calm was not something he was used to, and it was a bit relaxing, if he was being honest. He didn't miss his parent as much as his friends probably did.

At the same time though, the silence was a little unnerving. While he enjoyed the break from his mom, he didn't like the feel of living in an empty house. It was _too_ peaceful.

A little evil invasion wasn't going to make him stay indoors, no way. Just like usual, he had a reason to be away from home for most of the day.

Jasper opened his door and stepped outside. Now was the time to head to Junk N Stuff and figure out their next move. He would worry about the quiet house this evening.

As Jasper pulled his door shut, he gazed around his street for any of the Minyak zombies. He was ready to run around back and head down the alley if he spotted an adult steaking out the area.

However, what he wasn't ready for was to turn toward the road and freeze at the sight of his old man next door neighbor standing at the edge of his yard. The man was staring at Jasper and standing still like a robot. Jasper couldn't see due to the sunglasses, but he could feel Mr. Curley's glass eye piercing straight into his soul.

Jasper laughed nervously. "Oh hi," he greeted with a sheepish wave. "I was just, uh, seeing what the weather was like!" He stuck an arm out. "Warm, just as I thought. I'll just go back inside now where it's nice and cool and… Never come out again. Bye!"

He raced back inside and slammed the door shut. Looked like he was heading down the alley after all.

Jasper moved quickly and carefully, diving behind hordes of trashcans or cars when he saw an adult between the houses. He had a few blocks to go through before he made it to Henry's house, and luckily, he could follow the alley all the way there.

A woman stepped onto the gravel ahead of him. Her dark sunglasses got the glare of the sun and nearly blinded him.

 _Wait—_

Jasper turned and began to head the other way.

His old man neighbor was standing there, hands in the pockets of his overalls.

 _–why does it feel—_

Jasper squeezed between a car and a shed and ran across a yard to the next street over. He turned in a circle slowly, taking in the new surroundings. They'd cornered him to a cul de sac nowhere near his friends.

 _–like they're following him?_

A pair of women stormed toward him, their heels clicking against the concrete in awesome unison. They looked like twins, but they were unfamiliar otherwise.

Jasper gulped. He eyed the road behind the women. It was empty and quiet. He had no choice but to make a run for it. There would no doubt be more minions roaming the streets, but at least he wouldn't be trapped in the suburban areas.

He groaned a little. Why was _he_ always stuck running for his life?

Jasper took a deep breath and took off down the street. He opted for a jog until he could figure out where to go next, but then the sound of shoes against pavement rattled his ears, and he knew he was being followed.

He picked up his pace, pushing harder and faster, like he was trying to cross the finish line before his gym teacher could order another round of laps.

But then, a swarm of adults flooded the street from the left. They slipped through the spaces between the houses and stormed at him at a pace that would usually be calm and leisurely, but in a mass like that, it was daunting and unnerving.

Jasper would never be able to watch another zombie movie again.

"What the _hell_?!" Jasper cried. He stumbled, turning his head back and forth as he took in the army closing in on him.

A voice echoed from the group of— _ten_ , he counted with his finger—adults. It was one voice, but it sounded like it was coming from everywhere.

"Kid Danger," it was Minyak, but, where _was_ he? "I have you cornered. There is nowhere to run. Surrender now."

Jasper opened his mouth and closed it again. Minyak thought—Jasper laughed, a bit hysterical. "You think I'm Kid Danger?" he yelled. He laughed again. Normally, the idea would thrill him! Him, Kid Danger? A superhero? One of the coolest guys in Swellview? Yes, please!  
But as the adults closed in on him, and Jasper caught a few of their fingers twitching around the guns in their hands, the teenager was suddenly really relieved to be regular ole Jasper Dunlop.

"If you're not, then the other boy must be," Minyak muttered, sounding further away than before. Jasper squinted, searching for the source. Was the scientist actually there, or was he speaking through the glasses like Henry was talking about a few days ago?

Also—Minyak basically knew Kid Danger's identity!

"Uhh, actually!" Jasper cried, shaking his head. "I am Kid Danger! You got me!" He wasn't really sure what he was saying, but the only thing he was sure of was that he _had_ to keep Henry's secret safe.

Even if that meant taking on, like, twelve brainwashed adults.

Jasper looked around. His escape route was a slim break between a skinny blonde woman and a tall lanky man standing a few feet from the sidewalk. Surely, he could shove past the woman at least and push through to freedom.

It was his best bet. Jasper rocked on his heels and crossed his arms over his chest. "You'll have to catch me first, Maniac!" he hollered as loud as he could in hopes to drown out in the tremble in his voice.

Then, he ran.

He shoulder-checked the woman and shoved the man with his elbow. Jasper stumbled as he hands tried grabbing his arms, but the dose of adrenaline in his veins was too strong; he tore free after only a few tugs.

Jasper's lungs were still burning from his last sprint. He'd barely passed a few houses before he was ready to double over and rest for an hour. How was he _this_ out of breath already, seriously? When this was all over, he was making a firm commitment to the gym.

This run was different from the last one, though. Before, he was running because he didn't want to be caught. And even if he was, Minyak would probably just put him on house arrest or something (he didn't think Minyak would waste bullets on a _kid_ anyways).

Now, Jasper forced himself to keep going even though he could feel his breakfast rising up his throat because he _couldn't_ be caught. Now, he felt the full weight of Kid Danger's bounty on his shoulders, dragging him down with fear and riling him up with adrenaline. He didn't want to imagine what would happen if Minyak managed to corner him again. Jasper knew he wouldn't be as lucky the second time around.

Jasper always wanted to be Kid Danger, and he finally got it.

He wished he'd stayed in bed today.

•••••

"It doesn't look like you need my help."

Minyak ignored her as he turned in his chair and smirked at his prisoner. "So, Captain Man," he said, leaning to the side and gesturing toward the computer screens behind him, "does this boy look familiar to you?"

Captain Man pretended to study the video feed carefully. He squinted and hummed thoughtfully, watching Jasper Dunlop run for his life as a dozen adults chased after him.

"Don't tell me you really expect him to tell you whether that's Kid Danger or not."

The superhero smirked. "Yeah, she's right. That _could_ be Kid Danger, but it also couldn't be. I can't really tell. All those concussions made my vision a little fuzzy." He looked smug in the face, but his eyes were dark and full of hatred.

Minyak took a deep breath. "Fine. Then how about this boy?" He reached behind him and grabbed a book off the counter.

Captain Man and the woman leaned toward the light to get a better look when Minyak held the open book in front of him.

It was a yearbook opened to the Swellview junior class. There were three faces circled in black ink: Charlotte Bolton, Jasper Dunlop, and Henry Hart.

"These are three of the four kids my men found Monday morning after I'd already taken control of the city. This one," he pointed at Jasper, "is the idiot on the run behind me. I haven't seen much of the girl, but this boy," he pointed at Henry, "is a bit too jumpy to not be suspicious."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "Jumpy how?"

"He shoved me away from his friend the other day."

"Maybe you scared him," Captain Man offered. He pressed his lips into a smile. "Your face does frighten a lot of people."

"Shut it," Minyak growled. His eyes flickered to the woman. "Word on the street is you know Kid Danger's identity. Is he either of these boys?"

She crossed her arms over her chest and glanced at the superhero sitting a few feet away. Her "ex-boyfriend" (if you could even call him that since the whole relationship was built on mind control) was glaring in return, jaw clenched, and eyes narrowed.

 _Don't you dare_ , he warned.

She straightened her spine and turned to Minyak. "No," she answered, "but I can bring him to you _if_ you erase any file you have on me and my," she paused, lips twitching as she searched for a better word, "hobby."

Minyak smirked. He'd lured her back to Swellview with the age-old trick of blackmail. It was simple, really. She was well-known in the villainous world before she brainwashed Captain Man. But then, word got out about her supposed engagement to the superhero, and she suddenly caught fire among other evil doers. Minyak figured she knew something after getting _that_ close to Captain Man, so after learning Kid Danger managed to slip through his fingers, he devised a plan.

Minyak's loyal assistant Nurse Cohort spent hours digging up everything she could find on the mysterious woman Gwen. After hacking into security cameras across the country and running back and forth through the video feed enough to catch clear face shots, it was apparent this woman would be facing federal charges if anything were to slip out.

It was amazing how easily you could coerce someone into doing your bidding when their freedom was on the line.

"Of course," Minyak promised. "A deal _is_ a deal." He tilted his head back and laughed.

As Gwen turned to leave, she paused and looked at Captain Man. He was furious. She glanced at Minyak and knelt in front of the superhero.

"Hey," she whispered, smirking, "at least you'll see your boyfriend tomorrow."

"Don't think I won't hit you just 'cause you're a girl," he growled.

Gwen hummed. She slowly stood and slipped out the door. As she walked down the hallway, she dug her nails into her palms.

Ray Manchester was a kind person; there was a reason the whole city loved him.

But, there was also a reason a lot of people were afraid to cross him.

•••••

Jasper stumbled through a door and collapsed on the marble floor.

He rolled onto his back, gasping and coughing as he tried recovering from the marathon he just ran. His lungs were dry and burning; they'd never hurt so bad before! His legs—he couldn't feel them. And his head wouldn't stop _throbbing_.

This must be what it felt like to die.

Jasper spotted shadows falling over the windows. He scrambled to his hands and knees and crawled behind a metal shelf just as a voice shouted in the streets. He recognized the voice, but it definitely wasn't Minyak's.

"Spread out!" the man shouted. "He couldn't have gone far!"

Jasper realized with a churn in his stomach that that was officer Wilson. He'd nearly forgotten about the man who brought him and his friends into this mess.

Oh, this was bad. He was cornered, on his own, probably on the other side of the city from his friends! The Minyak minions continued to grow in numbers as he ran, cutting him off on every backroad and short cut. Eventually, Jasper was just running with no sense of direction. It became less about rerouting back to Junk N Stuff and more about finding a safe place to hide and rest.

Jasper tilted his chin back until his head bumped against the shelf behind him. He was in a gas station, but not one he recognized. The walls were mustard yellow with a white trim around the top. He looked over to the registers a few feet away. There were stands in front of the counter filled with souvenir items and useless knickknacks. Jasper couldn't remember any gas station around his house that had souvenirs. Just how far did he _run_?!

Movement ahead of him had him sitting upright. Something fell to the floor, and somebody shuffled their feet.

Jasper's breath caught in his throat. He wasn't ready to run again (he was sure he'd pass out if he so much as stood). But what could he do? Fight? Yeah, 'cause that worked out _so well_ the last time.

Shoes squeaked as the stranger continued down the row. They seemed to be inching closer, just as carefully as Jasper was listening.

His eyes swept across the aisle he was sitting in. Nothing was useful! _Of course_ , he had to collapse in the candy row.

They would spot Jasper any second now. He needed a plan!

There was a sharp intake of breath, and then the stranger jumped into view.

"Stay where you are!" she ordered, thrusting an arm out and taking aim.

Jasper threw his hands in front of his face. "Don't shoot, please! I'm not Kid Danger!"

A beat passed between them.

The girl slowly lowered her hand. She looked him over. "Yeah, I didn't think so."

Jasper dropped his hands. "What—What does _that_ mean?!"

She shrugged. "I just don't see Kid Danger begging not to be shot. Wouldn't he be all, 'I have a laser that can knock people out, _pew pew_?'"

"Probably, eventually, but he'd definitely cower like a girl before all that happens," Jasper declared. "Besides, his laser doesn't go _pew pew_. It's only one _pew_." He eyed the weapon in her hand. "Were you really going to hit me with pepper spray?"

Her cheeks flushed. "It's the only thing I have, which is more than before I entered this gas station." She stepped forward and offered her hand.

He waved her off. "Thanks, but I just ran, like, six miles. I don't think I can stand right now."

She pursed her lips. "Okay, fair enough." She dropped next to him and crossed her legs. "Can you give me some context, or…?"

"Uh…" Jasper suddenly lost the ability to speak because _oh my god, this girl was beautiful_. Now that she was closer and easier to see, Jasper could really grasp her features. She had olive skin and long dark brown hair pulled into a high ponytail. Her cheeks were narrow, eyes large and light brown, and her nose was long and straight.

"N-No," he stuttered, shaking his head slowly. "It's kind of a secret, sorry." He smiled sheepishly. "I'm Jasper, by the way."

"Althea," she replied, pulling her lips back into a smile and revealing a set of perfect teeth. Jasper was beginning to wonder if there was anything _imperfect_ about this girl.

"That's a pretty name," Jasper breathed.

"Thanks. So, you can't tell me anything? Not even why they were chasing after you? I feel like I should know this if I'm going to risk talking to you. It's too dangerous to hang around an outlaw, you know."

Jasper laughed nervously. "Well, uh, I'm not an outlaw so, there's some good news. I was just, um…" He gnawed on his lip. "Um… I was… Saving Kid Danger's life!"

Althea blinked. "You were?"

"Yep, yes I was… He was being cornered by a few adults, and I drew the attention away from him, so he could escape."

Or, something like that.

"Wow, that's so brave! Are you guys friends?"

"Oh, the best. We're like brothers."

He mentally kicked himself. _That was too truthful, Jasper!_

Althea grinned. "That's so cool!"

"Yeah, yeah, it's really great. Hey! Let's talk about you. Why haven't you been turned into a zombie?"

Her smile faltered a bit. "It's kind of a long story. I'll tell you about it in exchange for some help."

"Sure! What do you need?"

"Well if you're up for it, I need some help carrying these bags back to my base."

"Your… Base?"

Althea jumped to her feet and peeked over the shelf. Then, she turned back to Jasper and explained, "Yeah, some company and I have taken shelter in the hospital across the highway."

"Wait—You mean there are adults over there who _haven't_ been brainwashed?"

"Uhh… Yep! Sorry, I keep forgetting that I'm an adult now. You wanna help out?"

Jasper was shocked for just a moment, but then his surprise faded away into excitement, and he grinned.

"Tell me what I need to do!"

•••••

Jasper slung the duffle bag over his shoulder and followed Althea out of the gas station. The two spent fifteen minutes tossing as much food and snacks into their bags that would fit. Althea explained she had been on a supply run when Jasper stumbled into the mix and scared her.

"So, how did you and the others skip the brainwashing?" Jasper asked as they rushed across the road.

"Um," she began, pressing her back against the door of a hotel and peeking around the corner, "we weren't hit directly in the head. The ones who attacked us had really bad aim. I got the bullet out as fast as I could and patched up my wound. Then when I realized I wasn't being controlled, I set out to find others. I figured there had to be more with my luck."

"How many did you find?"

"Nine. There's my mom, my classmate Mark, his girlfriend Macy, and some people we picked up on the way."

"That's awesome."

Althea waved her hand, and they crept forward. She smiled at him over her shoulder. "Yeah, thanks. It wasn't easy, but I'm glad we picked up as many people as we could."

They walked around the hotel, and suddenly, they were at the edge of the city. Jasper and Althea lingered on the grass in front of the building and gazed out into the emptiness of the highway.

The sight reminded him of a movie. After the main character fought his way through the treacherous jungle, he finally broke through to the ocean. The chaos and confusion melted away into a stilled peace and quiet. The main character wasn't in the clear yet, though. In order to truly be safe, he had to cross the ocean.

"This isn't an easy way to do this," Althea began with a deep breath. "Just run."

 _Great_ , Jasper inwardly groaned. _More running_.

The stakes were higher than last time, and he didn't think that was possible. Even though the minions thought he was Kid Danger, and they were trying to kill him, at least he had places to hide.

This was that open field in Bambi that he and his mother had to cross to get back to the forest. It was the perfect shooting range for the hunters, and Bambi didn't realize until it was too late.

"It'll be okay," Althea reassured when she saw his uncertainty. "I've made this trip more than enough times in the last few days. It's scary at first, but thankfully, our _Supreme Ruler_ is too focused on the inner city to worry about what's happening on the outskirts. And actually," she grinned, "it starts to be kind of fun."

Jasper snickered at the sarcasm dripping from Minyak's preferred title.

"Okay," Jasper breathed. "I'm ready. Let's go before I chicken out."

Althea nodded. "On the count of three. One."

Jasper and Althea inched forward, shoulders tensing and grips tightening on their bags as they neared the highway.

"Two," she breathed as she stopped on the edge of the pavement.

She and Jasper glanced at each other.

" _Three_!"

It took Jasper all of five seconds to realize how Althea found this to be fun. Once he was on the highway and running as fast as he could to the other side, he felt that familiar surge of adrenaline kickstart his heart and warm up his blood. All of the emotions from earlier washed over him. Running for your life was shockingly similar to walking through a haunted house. It held the same uneasiness, the same fear and the same thrill. It was kind of exhilarating.

Jasper laughed, quietly at first and then his volume rose a few octaves. He wasn't sure what he was laughing at, really. Maybe it was the fact that he just compared literal death to walking through a haunted house. Maybe it was the excitement of being so out in the open during one of Swellview's scariest times. Or maybe it was just a calm before the storm; his stomach wasn't sitting right after all this running.

They reached the other side safe and sound, and Jasper was really ready to fall over and die. His adrenaline supply was running on empty, and he definitely needed a nap if he was going to make it back home.

"Whew," Althea breathed. "See, what'd I tell you? _Fun_."

"Yeah," Jasper agreed between breaths, "that was… Cool…"

"C'mon, we can rest inside."

Althea led the way across the parking lot to the emergency room on the right side of the hospital. Jasper followed close behind, readjusting the strap on his shoulder as he looked around the vacant lot. It was chilling seeing the place so deserted. The more he saw of the city, the more he wondered if they were _actually_ trapped in a zombie apocalypse.

The waiting room was dead silent. Althea walked past the front desk and down the hallway toward a pair of double doors.

Althea stopped just inside of the doors and looked around. " _Eirene_."

As though she had just spoken a summoning spell, the doors lining the hallways flew open, and nine people spilled into the open.

"Oh, hello Althea!" an older man greeted with a smile.

"I'm glad to see you're all right!" his wife added, eyes bright with worry. "You didn't get hurt, did you?"

A younger man closer to Althea's age stepped forward. He glanced at Jasper wearily. "Who's this?"

Althea beamed. "Everything went fine today. We brought food! And this is my new friend Jasper. He helped me today."

Jasper blushed and waved meekly. "Hey."

Althea grabbed Jasper's bag and held both hers and his out to the younger man. "Take these to the others. Sorry, it was all I could find."

"You're a life saver, Althea," he replied gratefully.

As he corralled the remaining eight into a room at the end of the hallway, Jasper turned to Althea.

"Are you a witch?" he asked dumbly. "Did you say a magic word back there? 'Cause it sounded like you broke a spell."

Althea laughed. "No, I'm no witch. Eirene is our codeword. My mother and I decided on it because Eirene is the Greek goddess of peace. She thought it was fitting."

"Is your mom like an expert on Greek mythology or something?"

She snickered. "Yeah, or something. C'mon, you can rest in here."

Jasper followed her through the first door on the left. It was a long room filled with five beds divided by thin white curtains.

"Nobody will disturb you for at least an hour," Althea reassured. "I'll save you some food, so you won't go back starving."

Jasper looked from the bed to the girl. "Thank you," he said. He was a little shocked at how giving this girl was.

It's because she thinks you saved Kid Danger's life, a little voice reminded in the back of his head. Jasper resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

Althea smiled. "No problem. It's what I do, I guess. Anyways, I'll leave you alone now. See you in a little bit."

Jasper crawled on the bed slowly; his legs were so sore! He heard the door quietly click shut behind Althea, and then there was silence.

Boy, what a day. Henry and Charlotte won't believe what he'd been through; he barely believed it!

Jasper yawned and sprawled out across the bed. He hoped his friends weren't too worried about his disappearance (if they even noticed), but he was too tired to dwell on the idea.

When his face hit the pillow, he was out.

•••••

An hour later, Jasper found his way into the room across the hall where everybody else was eating lunch. Althea was passing out a box of snack sized chip bags to the group. When she saw him standing in the doorway, she smiled and joined him.

"Hi," she greeted, "how are you feeling?"

"Much better, thanks. So, how did you all end up here?"

Althea leaned against the wall and watched her small group of friends. "It started with me and _mamá_ ," she began. "I came home after a night out with friends, and she was sitting in the living room crying. She'd been shot in the leg. I didn't have the tools I needed, so I called up Mark," she pointed to the younger man from earlier. "I told him what happened, and we made a plan to meet. He and his girlfriend Macy," Jasper figured it was the redhead seated next to Mark, "were a few blocks down from us. Macy had been shot in the arm, so we both needed the hospital to help our family. We picked up stragglers on the way. It was tricky, especially with the highway, but like I said," Althea shrugged, "the Supreme Ruler doesn't care about the outskirts."

"And you healed all these people?"

"The best we could. After we figured out what the bullets were trying to do, getting them out of the body was easy. I guess it helps that their signal wasn't very strong."

Jasper frowned as an idea popped in his head. "Do you think it'd be easier if there wasn't a signal at all?"

"Well, probably. There wouldn't be anything disrupting the nervous system, so it'd be easier to remove."

He gasped, and his eyes widened. Althea spun around to look at him in alarm.

"What? What's wrong?"

"I think you can help us!"

"What do you mean?"

Jasper opened and closed his mouth. "I need to get back to my friends and figure this out. I, um, can I come back tomorrow?"

"Um sure, that's fine. Can you tell me what you're thinking?"

"I'm thinking there might be a way to break the mind control. Oh man, I have to talk to Schwoz."

"What's a Schwoz?"

Jasper took a deep breath. "God, I have to go _run_ to Junk N Stuff."

"Junk N Stuff? Jasper, what are you saying?"

"I have to go," Jasper explained firmly, "but I'll be back here tomorrow, and I'll bring Kid Danger."

Althea smiled, a bit dreamily. She never dreamed she'd be meeting a city celebrity in the midst of this mess.

"Okay," Althea sighed. "I'll see you tomorrow. Good luck."

Jasper jogged through the hallways, mind reeling about this idea of his. It was just crazy enough to work, but he had to go talk it over with Schwoz.

There may be hope in this fight after all.

•••••

Henry, Schwoz, and Charlotte were on edge. Henry paced back and forth, running his hands through his hair in an attempt to calm his nerves. Schwoz and Charlotte were at the computers, scanning every traffic camera in the city to try and find their lost friend.

Piper was watching the madness unfold, half concerned about Jasper and half asleep.

"Find anything?" Henry asked.

"Not yet! He's nowhere downtown," Charlotte sighed. She was getting frustrated.

"How do you guys know he's even out there?" Piper asked. "He could still be asleep at home."

"We don't," Henry explained, "but I heard Minyak yell at Kid Danger earlier, and he wasn't talking to _me_."

"That doesn't mean he was talking to Jasper."

"That doesn't _not_ mean he was talking to Jasper."

" _What_?"

"I don't know, okay!?" Henry huffed, shaking his head. "My best friend could be brainwashed by now, and we won't know because stupid Minyak cut off the cell service."

As if on cue, the elevator dinged.

Jasper burst inside, out of breath. "Guys!" he yelled.

"Jasper!" everybody but Piper cried. They rushed toward him, stopping only inches away to give him space.

"Dude, where have you been?"

"I'll explain… Everything. But _guys_ ," Jasper breathed, "I have an idea to beat Minyak!"


	10. enemy of my enemy

in honor of the jonas brothers making a comeback, here's a new chapter

I think this is the longest chapter I've ever written. Word says it's 14 pages so, uh, enjoy :)

Previously on _Invasion_ …

After Jasper met a young adult named Althea and a group of adults who have been hiding out in the Swellview Hospital, he got an idea that could help the fight against Dr. Minyak.

Now…

* * *

Spray Z held a GoPro he'd picked up at the mall earlier in front of his face.

He grinned. "What's up? I'm Spray Z, honorary member of the Wall Dogs. If you're watching this, that means we kicked Minyak's ass and saved the city."

Veronica glanced at him, bored. "What're you doing?"

"Making a video documentary on the Swellview Invasion of 2018. When this is all over, the people will want to know who took down Minyak, and I'm not letting those prudes get the story twisted." Spray Z looked back at the camera. "Let it be known: We are just as much involved in this rebellion as Kid Danger and his loser friends, got it? He came to _us_ for help."

"Look alive," Max muttered, climbing to her feet. "Here they come."

Spray Z clipped the camera onto his jean pocket as the front door of Glass from the Past pushed open. Kid Danger entered first and held the door for his friends.

"Hey," Max greeted with a wave.

"You better have a good reason for calling us so early," Veronica warned with a yawn.

Kid Danger turned to Max. "Did you bring what I asked?"

She nodded and knelt next to her backpack at her feet. She unzipped the top and pulled out a third walkie-talkie, similar to Veronica's and Kid Danger's.

He smiled. "Thanks."

Max mirrored him. "No problem."

"You gonna tell us what you need it for?" Spray Z asked, stepping forward and glaring at the sidekick.

Kid Danger returned the glare. "Jasper met someone who could help us out."

The Wall Dogs' attention flickered to Jasper, who suddenly looked sheepish.

"Hehe, yeah, maybe," he muttered, rocking on his heels. "I mean, it was just an _idea_ —"

"A _good_ idea," Charlotte corrected, nudging him with her elbow.

Veronica looked to Kid Danger for answers. He explained, "There's a group of adults hiding out in the Swellview Hospital. One is a nurse student, and she managed to save… What was it?"

"Nine others," Jasper answered. "Including herself. So, ten."

"And you think she can help us?" Max asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Won't she just be a target 'cause she's an adult?"

"Yeah, that's what the walkie-talkie is for," Charlotte answered. "They're safe there, and we want to keep it that way."

"So, how is she going to get it?" Veronica questioned.

Kid Danger pursed his lips. "We're heading over there in a few minutes."

"Are you an _idiot_? It's more dangerous for _you_ to be out there! Remember last time?"

He didn't have to be reminded; the pain in his calf every time he put too much weight on his foot was enough.

"I guess that's just the price I'll have to pay to protect the only chance we have at beating the mind control."

Spray Z narrowed his eyes. "How's this girl supposed to beat Minyak's mind control?"

"She knows how to safely extract the mind control device from the nervous system," Charlotte explained. "It's how she saved all those people. If we can figure out a way to shut down the mind control devices for a few minutes, then it might buy her enough time to get the bullets out."

"But we haven't talked to her about any of this," Kid Danger added. "In fact, Jasper's the only one who's met her. We have to run this by her and see if she's even on board."

"Do we have to go with you?" Spray Z asked.

Kid Danger shrugged. "If you want." He glanced over the three Wall Dogs, silently hoping they refuse. While it might be good to have the backup, dragging more people along would just slow them down.

Spray Z looked to Veronica, and then they both looked at Max. After a moment, Veronica turned back to Kid Danger and shook her head. "I think we'll stay here," she decided.

"Okay, then we'll be in touch." He flashed a toothless smile before turning and following his friends out the door.

When they were alone again, Spray Z held his GoPro in front of his face once more.

"So, while Team Losers go risk their lives for some stranger, we're going to hit up the shops and steal some shit." He grinned.

Veronica and Max shared a look as they made their way to the door.

Max sighed, "This is going to get old quick."

Veronica rolled her eyes and agreed.

•••••

The further the team ventured from downtown, the less populated the city became. Fewer Minyak minions were spotted milling around the buildings; it reached a point where there were city block wide windows of opportunity to walk in the streets without being seen.

"I don't think I'll be able to see Swellview the same way again," Piper admitted. She'd been on this street multiple times, and never once had it been so abandoned and dead. It sent a chill down her spine.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Charlotte agreed. She turned her head to look at Piper, but movement behind her made her stop and stare at the boy in the back. "What're you doing Jasper?"

Henry and Piper halted a few steps ahead.

Jasper was holding his phone sideways between his thumb and pointer finger. He lowered it to explain, "I'm making a documentary of… Wait for… _Team Danger VS Doctor Minyak: The Attack on Swellview_."

There was silence for a few beats. Jasper's friends stared at him, kind of at a loss for words.

Finally, Henry disrupted the stillness. He rubbed the back of his neck and stated, "I have a question."

Charlotte jumped in, "I have _a lot_ of questions."

"That's the dumbest title I've ever heard," Piper declared.

Jasper pocketed his phone. "You think it's too long?"

"That's _one_ of—" Charlotte began.

"Yeah," Henry interrupted with a nod.

His best friend shrugged. "I'll work on it. We're almost there, by the way."

"How much further?" Henry asked.

"Just past that hotel."

As the group neared the highway, Jasper couldn't keep the excitement at bay. His face broke into a wide grin that made his cheeks hurt. Piper gave him a weird look over her shoulder.

He couldn't help it, though! Althea had been on his mind since he left the hospital yesterday, not just because she's beautiful (although he had thought about that _a lot_ ), but also because of how kind she was. He was a total stranger (probably smelly and sweaty too, gross) to her, could've been working for Minyak undercover, and she still gave him food and a place to sleep. She was a _goddess_.

Henry stopped at the edge of the hotel. He pressed his back against the building's wall and looked back at his friend.

"Hey, Jasp?" he called.

"What's up?" Jasper replied, pushing to the front.

"How're we supposed to get over there?" Henry nodded toward the hospital on the other side of the highway.

The corners of Jasper's mouth twitched. "We run."

"We can't run out there!" Piper cried. "It's basically a shooting range!"

Charlotte crossed her arms over her chest as her eyebrows scrunched together. "Yeah, I don't know about this Jasper."

"Minyak isn't paying attention to the outskirts—no one will see us."

Henry shook his head. He wished Jasper would've mentioned this before they came all the way out there. "Says _you_ ," he argued. This was too big of a risk (for a plan that might not even work). "For all we know, there are adults watching us _right now_."

He raised his chin to peer over the girls' heads. Henry clenched his jaw as he scanned the corner of the street.

Okay, just because he didn't see anything at that moment didn't mean there weren't any out there.

Jasper waved a hand in front of Henry's face to draw his best friend's attention. He pleaded, "Just trust me, okay? I did this yesterday. We'll be fine."

Henry turned to Charlotte and Piper. "What do you guys think?" he asked.

Charlotte opened her mouth and closed it again. She tilted her head thoughtfully. "This is the only idea we've gotten about beating Minyak so far. I think we need to do this."

Piper nodded. "Yeah, let's go! I'm not letting some stupid mind-controlled freaks scare me," she scoffed. She didn't look at her brother as she said this, because he was the only person who could see through her.

Henry took a deep breath. "Okay, then let's go. Jasper, you lead."

Jasper's face lit up. "Really!? Yay!"

Piper rolled her eyes while Charlotte chuckled.

As Jasper led the group forward toward the road, Henry jogged back the other way. He peered around the edge of the hotel and swept his gaze over the street. Once more, just in case. There was no such thing as too careful these days.

A shadow to his right caught his eye. He jerked his head back and squinted at blue car parked across the street. Nothing happened. He could've sworn there was somebody over there!

 _Must be my anxiety playing tricks on me_ , he thought with an eye roll. That was its favorite game, making him paranoid over nothing.

With a sigh, he turned and caught up with his friends. Jasper was waiting for him to regroup. He raised his eyebrows at Henry when his friend neared them.

 _Everything good?_ The expression asked.

Henry caught his eye and nodded.

Piper was bouncing on her feet. She normally hated running, but the situation had her bursting with energy. She was in the mood to just run as fast as she could.

"Okay, then let's get going. Now, we can go on three or one or whatever—"

"Go!" Piper shouted. She bolted past the teens and raced across the first two lanes.

Jasper sighed. "Or go works, I guess." He turned to his friends, who were a little surprised by Piper's outburst. "Well? You guys ready?"

A woman stood at the edge of the hotel, just inside the safety of a shadow. She leaned against the brick wall and crossed her arms over her chest. Her eyes were glued to the four teens running across the highway toward a hospital she didn't realize was there. She squinted, confused and curious. What was their angle? What purpose did an abandoned hospital serve them?

Gwen took a seat on the concrete. She pressed her back against the wall and tilted her chin back.

 _I guess I'll just have to wait and ask them myself_ , she thought with a smirk.

•••••

Earlier that morning, while the good guys were having a meeting in Glass from the Past, the bad guys were having their own get-together across town.

Gwen slipped into the control room quietly. She had a small flashlight in her hand, just bright enough to see what was in front of her. She shone the light to her left; Captain Man was asleep in the same position she'd last seen him in. There was something different about him, though. A bloodied cut had appeared on his cheek, just below his eye. Gwen hummed, wondering how Minyak managed to harm the indestructible man.

If Captain Man were awake, she might've asked him. However, her interest in it wasn't that strong. She was in that room for one reason only, and it wasn't to question him on his powers.

Gwen took a seat in front of Minyak's wall of monitors and smirked. That idiot left his computer unlocked. She clicked her flashlight off and stuffed it in her pocket. Next, she began scanning through the files. All she had to do was find her folder and delete the contents. Then she'd be free of that asshole's blackmailing.

"Good morning, Gwen," a voice greeted behind her.

Gwen's hands froze over the keyboard, and her fingers curled into fists. Her tongue wetted her lips as she strung a line of curse words together in her head.

She had been so focused on the files that she didn't hear the door open. _Rookie mistake_.

The woman spun around in the chair and smiled at the near-bald man. "Good morning, Doctor. Sleep well?"

He ignored the question and stormed forward. "Trying to delete your files? Good attempt, but you would've failed even if I hadn't intervened."

Gwen grit her teeth. "They're not on the computer, are they?"

Minyak grinned. "Nope! I transferred everything onto a USB before I even called you in. I figured you'd pull something like this."

She shrugged. "What can I say? I am a villain after all."

"If you want your file so badly, do as you're told and bring Kid Danger to me," Minyak growled.

Gwen almost growled right back; she hated being told what to do.

"Fine," she hissed. "You better have that drive ready when I get back."

"Bring me the boy, and then we'll see."

Gwen rose to her feet and sauntered out of the room. It took chewing on her lip until it bled to stop her from lashing out at him. If there was one thing she hated more than being told what to do, it was a _man_ telling her what to do.

He was going to pay for this, one way or another.

•••••

"See, what'd I tell ya?" Jasper said. He placed his hands on his hips and glanced over each of his friends. "We're fine!"

Henry was breathing hard. He leaned against a car and tried catching his breath. Charlotte was next to him, dragging a hand down her face to wipe off the sweat.

Jasper frowned. "Expect for the fact that you guys are horribly out of shape. Seriously, you guys good?"

"You're not any better," Piper accused. She brushed her hair out of her face and took deep breaths.

Yeah, he was out of breath too. Still, "I ran like a whole 5K yesterday," Jasper defended. "Therefore, I'm more in shape than the rest of you."

Henry rolled his eyes. "I guess that makes sense."

Charlotte squinted her eyes and shook her head. "No, it doesn't!"

The gang waited a few more minutes before moving on. When everybody's heartrates were back to normal and they weren't gasping for breath, Jasper decided it was time to continue.

"Hey, you might wanna transform first," Charlotte suggested.

"Oh, right," Henry muttered. He stepped beside the car and poured a ball of gum into his hand.

"Why didn't you transform before we left?" Piper asked.

"Because I've been in it a lot the past few days, and it's way cooler to not wear it," Henry explained. He popped the ball into his mouth and began to chew.

Piper had seen the transformation a few times already, but watching her big brother change into her favorite hero in a gleam of light was too cool to get used to. Every time, it made her smile.

Seeing Piper smile made Henry smile, too.

"Okay, let's go," Kid Danger said. He nudged Jasper forward and fell into step beside his friend with the girls trailing behind.

Jasper led them to the emergency room. They walked past the front desk and through a pair of double doors that ran into a hallway full of doors.

 _What was it Althea said yesterday?_ Jasper wondered as he walked slowly down the corridor. It sounded something like… Like… "Irony."

Kid Danger gave Jasper a weird look out of the corner of his eye.

"What?" Charlotte asked.

Jasper frowned. "I don't get it; it worked yesterday."

A door opened at the end of the hallway, and a girl stepped out. She wore a yellow crewneck with Swellview Community College printed across the front in blue letters along with a pair of jeans and black tennis shoes.

"That's because you didn't say it right," she laughed. She stopped a few feet in front of them and beamed at the superhero. "Hi, I'm Althea." She reached a hand out almost hesitantly ( _was a hand shake too formal for a superhero? Not formal enough?_ )

Kid Danger threw a look at his friend that consisted of wide eyes and a half grin before turning back to Althea and shaking her head. "Nice to meet you, I'm Kid Danger… But I guess you knew that."

While Piper and Charlotte introduced themselves, Kid Danger pushed Jasper to the side.

"Dude, you never said she was _hot_."

"Hey, I saw her first," Jasper warned. "Dibs!"

"Yeah, fine. Go for it." Kid Danger rolled his eyes, but he hoped for good things with his friend and this girl. Maybe there'd actually be a good side to this whole mess.

"Where's everybody else?" Charlotte asked. "Jasper said there were ten of you, right?"

Althea nodded. "Yes! They're staying hidden until they hear the safe word."

"Which is?" Piper questioned.

The young woman raised her voice and announced, " _Eirene."_

Jasper mumbled, "I was close."

Just like the day before, the hallway was suddenly bursting with life. Doors opened along each side and nine people poured out. They were all talking at once, too. A few were greeting Jasper, but the majority half began bombarding Kid Danger with greetings and questions.

"Why are you here Kid Danger?"

"How are things going out there?"

"Do you have a plan to take back our city?"

"Where's Captain Man?"

" _Είσαι καλά_?"

There were so many voices that Kid Danger couldn't figure out who was talking. Was that last one actually a different language, or had the questions merged together so much that it just stopped sounding like English?

He took a step back, hoping for some distance from the adults. He could feel his heartrate start to pick up again. Kid Danger smiled nervously, hoping to hide any panic he might've let slip onto his features.

Jasper stepped in front of him, and that was when Althea realized she needed to intervene.

She stuck her thumb and index finger in her mouth and whistled. Everybody fell silent. Althea rocked on her heels and smiled sweetly.

"I promise I'll fill you all in later, but for right now, Kid Danger and his friends need to talk with me and Mark."

A man toward the back of the pack, probably Mark, blinked in surprise. "Hah?" he said.

Slowly, the crowd began to disperse. The adults returned to wherever they came from one by one until the only people left was an older woman who looked remarkably similar to Althea and Mark.

Althea and the woman exchanged a few sentences in a language none of the teens recognized. So, Kid Danger hadn't been hearing things! That made him feel a tiny bit better.

After the woman disappeared into a room and shut the door, Althea turned back to the group.

"I'm so sorry," she quickly apologized. "We don't go outside unless we have to, so we don't really know what's going on out there. They're just concerned."

Kid Danger shook his head slowly. "No, yeah, I understand, they have every right to be." He placed a hand over his heart and took a deep breath. "It's just that… I usually have someone with me to, uh, deal with that many people." He took another breath and flashed a weak smile at the young woman. After a quick glance over his friends and their concerned stares, he reassured, "I'm fine, really."

Jasper squeezed Kid Danger's shoulder.

"So, um, let's talk," the superhero said, straightening his shoulders.

••••••

Althea and Mark led the group to the other side of the front desk into an empty hallway.

"Uh wait, I have a question," Jasper announced, shyly raising his hand.

Althea pointed to him and nodded.

"That woman who didn't speak English was your mom… Right?" At Althea's nod, he continued, "What… I mean, what language was she speaking?"

"Greek," Althea answered. "My parents are both from Greece, but they moved here just before I was born."

"That's so cool," Charlotte stated with a smile.

"Thanks! They can both speak English, but my mom prefers her native tongue."

Kid Danger pursed his lips. "And your dad… Is he out there somewhere?"

Althea shook her head. "No, actually. His brother passed away last week, so he's in Greece right now. I couldn't go because of school, so Mom stayed with me."

"At least he's safe," Charlotte reasoned.

"And in a bunch better place than we are," Jasper joked. Then, after replaying what Althea had said, added, "Well you know, minus the whole… Dead brother thing…"

An awkward silence passed between the group. Mark, thankfully, ended it quick.

"So, uh, not to be rude, but what do you guys need to talk to us about?" he asked, scratching his neck.

Mark was tall and skinny. He had short black hair that curled up at the ends and stopped just above his ears. His chin was coated in a thin layer of black stubble stretching all the way up to his earlobes. Mark wore thick framed glasses with even thicker lenses that magnified his brown eyes to a size that was almost comical. His skin was whiter than Jasper's in the winter.

"Jasper has an idea to minimize Minyak's numbers," Kid Danger began, nudging his friend forward.

Jasper took that as his cue to continue. "Right! Um, so you were telling me yesterday how you guys were able to remove the bullet because it wasn't strong enough yet, right?"

Mark and Althea nodded.

"The weaker the signal, the easier it is to remove? Well, we have a device that kills the signal all together. Kid Danger's already tested it; it works. So, what I'm thinking is: We can bring people to you, destroy the signals, and you guys can get the bullets out."

Althea played with her hands. "That's a great idea, but it's just the two of us here. As much as I'd love to help the whole city, it's just too big of a job for the two of us."

"What about James, Ronnie, Tyler, and Erica?" Mark asked, turning to Althea.

"Who?" Piper questioned,

"They're some of our classmates," Althea answered. "It'd be easier I guess, but luring four people over here at once?" She looked to the teens. "Doesn't that seem like a big job for you?"

Kid Danger smirked. "Lucky for us, we've got some allies who can help."

Althea's mouth fell open. "Are you sure? I don't want you guys in danger."

The superhero snorted. "Danger is _literally_ my name. We can do it, right?" He glanced at his friends. Jasper offered two thumbs up and a grin, Charlotte voiced her agreements (though she looked a bit unsure), and Piper nodded with a smile.

"Oh, there's something else!" Jasper remembered. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the walkie-talkie. He was relieved to see it had survived the trip, but he'd never admit that out loud.

Kid Danger nodded. "Like I said earlier, we have allies in this fight."

"It's unofficially called the Swellview Alliance," Jasper interjected.

The superhero continued, "Right. Anyways, we'd like you to be a part of it. We need all the help we can get to take back our city. I know it's too dangerous for you to leave here, so that's what the walkie-talkie is for. It's on the same channel as mine and the leader of the other group."

"Who's the other group?" Mark asked.

"The Wall Dogs."

Althea frowned. "Aren't they, like… Criminals?"

"Yes," Charlotte answered with a scowl.

"They're friends," Kid Danger reassured. He shrugged. "Well, most of them. So, what do you say? Are you in?"

Jasper held out the walkie-talkie with a smile.

Althea and Mark shared a look.

She reached forward and grabbed the device.

"Of course, we're in," she laughed. "I'm ready to take Doctor Minyak down."

Jasper cheered. He raised his hands up, and Mark and Althea slapped them.

Charlotte stepped around Piper to stand next to Kid Danger.

"Good job," she praised, nudging his arm.

"Thanks," he breathed. "That was easier than I thought."

She smiled at him, and when he looked at her, he couldn't help but smile back.

•••••

The teens returned about half an hour later. It was around eleven by now, and the sun was beginning to burn. They'd decided as a group that, instead of going all the way back home, they'd hang out at Junk N Stuff until it wasn't so hot.

"Are you going to change back?" Piper asked her big brother as they walked along the side of the hotel.

"Oh yeah," Kid Danger muttered. He slowed his steps as he grabbed his gum dispenser from his pocket and poured a ball into his hand.

"I wouldn't do that just yet."

The teens froze. Charlotte and Jasper, who were a few feet ahead, took a step back. Kid Danger's eyes narrowed, and Piper's breath caught in her throat.

Gwen stood at the corner of the building, arms crossed over her chest and a smirk on her face.

Kid Danger dropped the gum ball back in its tube and put the dispenser away. He demanded, "What're you doing here, Gwen?"

Jasper was closest to Piper, so she asked quietly, "Who's Gwen?"

"She's that woman."

Piper rolled her eyes and took a step toward Charlotte. "Who's Gwen?"

"Technically, Captain Man's ex-fiancé. She brainwashed him and Henry, so she could get away with crimes. Also, she knows their identities."

Piper's eyes nearly bulged out of her head.

Gwen smirked. "Who's the new addition?"

"It doesn't matter. What do you _want_?" Kid Danger repeated. He stepped around his friends, so he stood in front and faced Gwen head on.

She sauntered forward, swaying her hips and snickering at the way she'd caught Kid Danger's friend's eye.

"Doctor Minyak sent me to retrieve you," she explained.

Kid Danger clenched his fists. He narrowed his eyes and turned his head to the side. "Guys," he ordered, "get out of here."

"No way! Are you kidding?" Charlotte exclaimed.

"Like we'd leave you with her," Jasper scoffed.

"I'd do what he says," Gwen warned. "There are eyes everywhere, and if you want him to keep his identity, make yourselves scarce."

She glared at Jasper. "He's already on to you two idiots. He didn't send his men after you for nothing yesterday. If any of you are caught with him, that only builds on the evidence."

Kid Danger looked over his shoulder. He looked from one friend to the other and nodded. He didn't say anything, but they understood.

 _It's okay. I'll be fine_.

Neither Charlotte nor Jasper were happy about it, but they eventually walked around Kid Danger and past Gwen. The woman didn't look, but she could feel their glares on the side of her face.

Piper caught Kid Danger's eye behind Gwen. She nodded, and he returned it. He didn't really know what that meant, but he figured it was a form of good luck.

Jasper, Charlotte, and Piper disappeared across the street. Gwen looked back to make sure they were really gone. When she saw nothing but a road and buildings, she turned to him.

"That was suspiciously helpful," Kid Danger commented. "What do you care if I'm outed or not?"

Gwen sighed. "Well for one, I lose the leverage on you. And two, that's exactly what Minyak is hoping for, and the last thing I want is for that dumbass to win."

"So… What're you planning?"

Gwen took another step forward. "I know we don't like each other, but you have to trust me."

•••••

Doctor Minyak's headquarters resided in city hall.

Kid Danger was a little annoyed he didn't think of that earlier. Of course, it would be in city hall. Not only was it the center of the city, but it was also the most obvious place someone in power would be. With everything going on, Kid Danger had forgotten Doctor Minyak had his oblivious and dumb moments, too.

There were two mind-controlled adults just inside the front door. When Gwen and Kid Danger slipped inside, they started advancing toward them. Kid Danger noticed a blinking red dot on each of the adults' glasses, just like before when that woman was live streaming the teen's return.

A second passed, and the adults froze. Kid Danger almost asked what happened, but Gwen yanked him forward.

There was a wide staircase a few feet from the doors that rose a few feet then split into two flights climbing in opposite directions. The whole thing looked like a wide Y. Gwen pulled him toward the right side.

"You remember what I showed you?" she demanded quietly as they climbed the stairs. They moved quickly, a bit too fast for Kid Danger to keep up with. He stumbled on a step, and Gwen's grip on his arm tightened to steady him.

"Yeah," the boy grumbled. "What if it doesn't work though?"

Gwen glared at him out of the corner of her eye. "If you do it right, it _will_."

She had his wrists tied behind his back with a firm knot. It wasn't tight enough to make escaping impossible, but it wasn't loose enough to make it easy.

They reached the top of the staircase and headed straight down a hallway. The last time Kid Danger was in city hall was about a year ago when he and Captain Man were demanding their funding back. He tried to keep track of their journey so far. Up the stairs, down the right hallway, all the way to the end…

"You ready?" Gwen questioned as they took a left. She nodded toward a door on the right side marked 'RESTRICTED AREA; EMPLOYEES ONLY.'

"Where's Captain Man?" Kid Danger asked suddenly. It had just occurred to him that his boss was probably somewhere in the building.

"He's in there."

"In _there_? Wait, I thought we were seeing Minyak."

"We _are_. Would you just hurry up?"

Gwen yanked him forward, and his stomach lurched. Sure, he'd faced Dr. Minyak plenty of times before. After multiple encounters, Kid Danger had lost the fear he once had for the man (except when Minyak revealed a new invention; that made Kid Danger a tiny bit nervous sometimes, but he'd never admit that to anyone), but this was different. Everything was different. Kid Danger was on his own for the first time since the first few months he started working for Ray. He felt the same bile in his throat and sweat on his palms as his thirteen-year-old self had when taking on Dr. Minyak alone the first time.

 _But this time I have a superpower,_ he reminded himself. _I'm not completely defenseless anymore_.

He remembered walking into Dr. Minyak's hideout all those years ago. His younger self was still angry about Ray whining about the loss of his power, but he was also eager. The excitement of crime fighting was still fresh and hot in his veins. Even when he knew he was caught and outnumbered, the adrenaline rush was strong enough to drown out the fear. It was only when Captain Man showed up did he let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

Kid Danger wished he could channel his thirteen-year-old self as he neared the door. He wished he could be as naïve and enthusiastic as he was back then, but times have changed. The villains have only gotten meaner and more dangerous. And he didn't think Captain Man would be saving him anytime soon.

When Gwen pushed the door open, Kid Danger took a deep breath. Straight in front of them was a table planted beneath a wall of monitors. There were twenty screens in total, each divided into fourths with a different picture. All but one were street cams; the single one directly in front of Minyak's chair was just a blank computer desktop. Kid Danger figured that was the one he used to tap into his minion's glasses.

The room was bare besides the monitors. White walls stared back at him, and beneath the bright lights, they were almost blinding. The floors were a plain white tile to match the wall. Kid Danger looked to his left; a blank corner. He looked to his right, and his heart stopped.

"Captain Man!"

The superhero was there, half awake, free of black sunglasses. He looked a little roughed up with blood on his cheek (and that certainly made the teen's breath catch), but at least he was still alive. His wrists were bound behind his back. Kid Danger knew his mentor could've escaped by now, so why didn't he? The sidekick feared it had something to do with Captain Man's ability (or, well, lack of ability) to be hurt now.

"Oh hello," Dr. Minyak greeted with a sly smile. He rose from his chair and walked toward the boy.

Kid Danger tore his gaze from his mentor to glare at the scientist. Gwen yanked the boy toward her and held up a hand.

"Give me the file," she growled, "and he's all yours."

Minyak held up a small black USB in front of his face. "Of course, a deal is a deal. But first, tell me his name."

"What?"

Kid Danger kept his gaze on the ground. He tried his best to trust Gwen with whatever plan she had because things would be a lot different if they weren't on the same side, but there was something obvious nagging at him.

 _Gwen could not be trusted_.

What if she ratted him out? She'd do anything to get what she wanted, right?

"His name," Minyak repeated. "Tell me, and you can leave."

Gwen released Kid Danger. She stepped forward and crossed her arms over her chest.

"His name is Oliver Pook."

Kid Danger snapped his head up. His eyes widened, and his jaw clenched.

Gwen looked at him over her shoulder. She raised her eyebrows and nodded her head forward just the smallest amount to get the point across. _Stick to the script_ , she wanted to snap.

He understood. With his eyes narrowed, he growled, "You… _Bitch_."

The woman scoffed and turned back to the scientist. She held her hand out expectantly.

Minyak smirked. He handed over the drive, and the woman quickly pocketed it.

"Pleasure doing business with you," he said.

Gwen rolled her eyes. She turned on her heel and headed for the door.

"Don't escape before I do," she warned quietly as she passed.

Kid Danger turned his head to Captain Man when the door shut. "Hey," he said.

Captain Man nodded. "Yo."

"You okay?"

"Oh, yeah. Doing great. You?"

Kid Danger smiled sheepishly. "Uh yeah, fine. Good."

"Would you two shut it?" Minyak snapped. "You'll have plenty of time to catch up later, because now you're both my prisoners."

Kid Danger smirked. "Do you think it's funny how long it took you to finally catch me? I mean, he's better at this than I am." He nodded to his friend. "I can't believe it took you a _week_ , and you had to send someone else."

"Shut up," Minyak growled. He swung an angry fist in the air, but the boy ducked. "It doesn't matter how long it took because you're here _now_."

Kid Danger made a face. "That sounded questionable. I'm seventeen, dude."

As soon as he said it, he regretted it. He bit hard on his lip and sighed. _Shoot_. It didn't matter much at the moment since Dr. Minyak believed he had Kid Danger's identity, but by the end of Monday, he was sure the scientist would be on the hunt again.

Unless Kid Danger failed to escape today.

"Are you still trying to defeat me Kid Danger?" Minyak questioned. "Haven't you realized by now that I'm unstoppable?"

The sidekick glared. He had to admit, taking down Minyak was proving to be a lot harder than he originally thought, but that was _only_ because the entire Swellview population was out for him. Kid Danger was sure he'd have thought of a plan by now (or more accurately, Charlotte and Schwoz would've thought of a plan), and this reign of terror would be over.

"Nope," the boy answered with a head shake. "I refuse to believe a jerk like you is unbeatable. Especially considering how many times we've stopped you in the past." He and Captain Man snickered. "Don't you think I have a plan? 'Cause we always have a plan to stop you."

He was saying more than he probably should've, but he couldn't help it. There was an actual _plan_ for once, not just weak ideas being tossed around the Man Cave. They had a team on their side full of people who want Minyak gone as badly as he did. His chest was light with relief that Swellview actually had a shot at fighting back.

Minyak grit his teeth. He was about to retort when an alarm went off on his phone. He swiped over to silence it and sighed.

"We'll continue this after lunch," he promised before stalking about of the room.

When the door shut, Henry slumped against the wall with relief.

"My stupid hands are shaking," he muttered.

"Why? You scared or something?" Ray teased. "It's only Dr. Minyak; we've fought him loads of times."

"Oh yeah? Then why haven't you fought back yet?"

The older man glared. "I think you can figure that out."

Henry slid down the wall and sighed. His leg was aching from being on it all day.

"How's it going out there?"

"Fine, I guess. It's kind of tricky getting around when the whole city's looking for you."

Ray frowned. "How's your leg?"

The boy met his gaze and almost asked how Ray knew, but then he remembered the whole thing was filmed for Minyak. Ray was in the room when it happened.

Henry ran his fingers over the spot he knew the wound was. "Fine." It was slowly healing, but slowly was better than nothing. "Schwoz fixed me up."

"So, Schwoz managed to avoid all this huh?"

"Of course, he did. I'm glad, too. We'd seriously be in trouble without him."

Henry began working on the technique Gwen showed him to free the rope. She told him to wait until Minyak left the room, so this was his only window. Tense and twist, tense and twist; Gwen made it sound so easy.

Ray squinted. "What're you doing?"

"Trying to escape," Henry explained. He wiggled his wrists as much as he could, but the rope was starting to burn his skin. He groaned. "This is harder than it she made it seem."

"Who, Gwen?"

"Yeah." Henry twisted his wrists again and pressed against the ropes. It wasn't working; nothing was working. He sighed deeply.

"Why would she show you how to escape?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's like that 'enemy of my enemy' saying? We have a common hatred for someone."

Another failed attempt made him huff. "She didn't—We should've practiced this more." Henry rested his head against the wall and looked around. Gwen mentioned finding something sharp if he was unable to wiggle out. The corner of a table was an option, or maybe something on the walls or ground.

"Wait, don't we have knives in our belts?" Henry asked, sitting up straighter.

Ray nodded slowly. "Yeah, but it's in the front, so I don't think you can—" His mouth fell open as he watched his sidekick swing his arms over his head with ease. "How did you do that?!"

Henry snickered. "I'm double jointed, dude." He unzipped a pouch on his left side and and grabbed the knife.

Ray pressed his lips into a smile. "Nice going, Kid." His eyes fell shut, and he forced them back open. His head suddenly felt heavy, and a wave of drowsiness washed over him. This was no doubt the side effect of a concussion.

When the blade of the knife sliced through the last strand of rope, Henry cheered, "Yeah!" Immediately, he slapped a hand over his mouth. He waited a beat for Minyak to come running back, but there was silence.

"Okay, cool, now let's get you out of here." Henry climbed to his feet and pocketed his knife.

Ray rested his head against the wall behind him. "Kid, I don't think…" He sighed.

Henry knelt next to him. "What? What's wrong?"

"I can't go with you."

"Of course, you can," Henry chuckled. He turned his head and scratched his ear to hide the way he gnawed his lip anxiously. "You just gotta get back on your feet; you'll be fine."

Ray's glossy eyes slid to the door. There was a sharp _bang, bang,_ _bang_ in his head, and he would give anything to make it stop. His fingers twitched in his gloves. They tingled with something Ray couldn't describe, and it rattled all the way up his arms. It _hurt_.

Henry frowned. He poked Ray's hand desperately while whispering, "Hey, hey, look at me. I'm getting you out of here, okay?"

"No, Kid—" Ray's voice was soft; it was almost unnatural to hear. Ray's voice was never soft. It was loud and obnoxious. When they were on missions that called for sneaking around and whispering, his voice was strict. The few times Ray's tone reached a level of comfort had been to calm one of his friends down, and even _that_ didn't happen often.

"Ray?"

"As much as I'd _love_ to kick Minyak's ass and get out of here…" Ray shrugged. "I can't really move."

Henry looked Ray over. There must've been more damage than he could see. "That's fine, dude. I can…" He looked around the room. "I can figure something out."

"Kid, you need to get out of here."

" _We_ need to get out of here."

Ray chuckled quietly. "Let's be real, you're not strong enough to get us both out."

Henry's face fell, and okay, there were definitely better ways of wording that. Ray clenched his jaw regretfully. He wasn't good at comforting people! Especially not a _child_. His father never did anything of the sorts after he got his powers. Apparently, it's easy to stop worrying about your son when said boy can't be hurt anymore. That was why Ray avoided any situation involving feelings and emotions he wasn't comfortable dealing with.

Well, that _used_ to be what he did. Ever since Henry started getting older and more anxious about things, avoiding emotions was harder than ever. Ray hated how he said that. There was always mocking between them, teasing that didn't hold any bite. And Henry was quick to retort with a comeback. That was their thing, and it was natural by now.

"I didn't mean that," Ray tried as Henry sat back.

"I know what you mean," Henry replied softly. He gnawed on his lip and stared at his hands, hoping for an idea to come to him. "There has to be some way, though."

"You could leave on your own."

Henry's head snapped up. His lips parted just the slightest as he met Ray's eye.

"No, I can't. Not without you."

There was that heaviness again. Ray's eyelids started to droop.

Henry lurched forward, gently tapping Ray's cheek. "Hey, stay with me. C'mon man."

Ray's vision was blurry; he could barely keep his eyes open. He knew it was only a matter of time before he passed out again.

The sidekick shook his head slowly. "Ray, please. I can't go back without—" He paused and squeezed his eyes shut. He opened his eyes with a short breath; they were full of tears. Henry worried a panic attack was on the horizon. "I can't do this by myself!"

"Sure, you can," Ray reassured. "You learned from the best." He managed a smile, though it was weak and lopsided.

Henry choked out a chuckle. He turned his head and took a few deep breaths. If he could just keep his panic attack at bay for a little longer… He'd managed to keep them a secret from his boss for a while, and now wasn't the best time for them to be revealed.

But just his luck, Ray noticed. He squinted and frowned. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," Henry answered a bit too sharply. He sniffed and shook his head.

Ray sighed. He wished he had more strength to question the boy.

Heavy footsteps thundered outside the door. The superheroes froze. Dr. Minyak's voice could be heard faintly speaking with someone, probably Nurse Cohort. Henry had kind of forgotten she existed.

"You'd better get ready," Ray warned.

"Ray, I can't—"

" _Yes_ , you can. You have to." Ray used the last of his strength on the most serious tone he could manage. Suddenly, they were pressed for time. Minyak would be on them any second, and he needed Henry to be focused on escaping.

"You're better at this than me, please—"

"But _I'm_ the one who was captured, not you."

"That was an accident!"

"Look," Ray growled (why was this kid so stubborn?!), "I _know_ you can do this. I wouldn't have hired you if I didn't."

The door swung open behind them. Henry jumped to his feet and spun around. The caught the door before it smacked his arm.

Minyak was shocked only for a moment. Then, he shouted, "How did you get free?!"

Henry didn't respond. He leapt over Ray's legs and scrambled to the other side of the room. He rocked on his heels, clenched his fists, and god, why were his hands still shaking? In front of the villain, of all things?

Dr. Minyak smirked. "Are you scared, Kid Danger?

"No," Kid Danger snapped. "Not of you." He glanced at Ray, but the man had passed out. Already, the kid was on his own again.

Suddenly, Kid Danger wanted out. The need to flee was stronger than before, so he charged. He stormed forward faster than Minyak expected. The scientist was momentarily surprised, but he recovered by the time the sidekick reached him.

Minyak swung his fist, and Kid Danger ducked. He pushed past the man harshly and broke through to the hallway. Kid Danger held his hands out as he barreled toward the wall. He'd barely bounced off the surface before he was on the run again.

Nurse Cohort stepped into his path. She raised a gun and fired three shots. Kid Danger stumbled to the right, ducked, and rolled forward. He popped back up in front of her, grabbed her wrist, and punched the gun from her grasp. It bounced on the floor and thankfully didn't go off.

She glared and began spitting out a threat, but he didn't stick around to listen.

Kid Danger was halfway down the first set of stairs when more gunshots rang through the air. They narrowly missed him and hit the wall behind him. He dropped into a squat behind the thick white columns serving as a railing along the stairs. Kid Danger peeked through the gaps between the columns. The mayor and vice mayor of Swellview stood with two women in front of the doorway.

They're added to the list of things Kid Danger will never look at the same way again.

He rested his forehead against the column and sighed. How was he supposed to get past them? He could try to run, but there was no way he could do that and dodge bullets at the same time.

Kid Danger looked around for inspiration. His eyes settled on a table sitting at the top of the staircase. Sitting on top of it was a glass vase filled with roses. It was the only thing near him without backtracking and grabbing Nurse Cohort's gun, but that was too close to her and Minyak.

It would have to do.

He stayed low to the ground as he climbed the stairs again. When he reached the table, he slowly rose and reached for the vase. Kid Danger kept his eyes on the adults as he wrapped his hands around the glass and pulled it off the table.

So, now he had it, but what could he do with it? It wouldn't provide much protection, and throwing it would only take one, maybe two out. He would still have to fight some. Which, well, that wasn't really a problem. By now, fighting was second nature, especially with his power. That wasn't the issue. The issue was the guns and the _mind-controlling bullets_. He'd already been shot once; another hit would be the end for sure.

Kid Danger looked at the vase thoughtfully. Maybe he didn't have to fight. Maybe… Could there be a way to distract them? Under that mind-control, they're still regular people. And regular people get distracted easily, right?

It was his only shot. He was betting his life on a glass vase, go figure.

He peeked through the columns again. The adults were watching the sides of the room, two faced each way. They weren't paying attention to the front anymore, which was good.

All he had to do was draw them away from the door. Kid Danger took a deep breath. He could do this.

Quickly, he jumped to his feet. He threw his hands over the side of the balcony, released the vase, and dropped behind the columns again. A second later, the vase shattered and echoed through the lobby.

He waited a few seconds before taking another peek. His heart fluttered at the sight of the empty doorway. His eyes fell to the four adults directly beneath him, examining the vase and looking at each other cluelessly.

 _Now's my chance! Go!_

Kid Danger jumped up and ran. He moved swiftly and quietly, dragging his hand along the rail so he didn't trip and fall.

Once his feet hit the floor, he bolted. There was a sudden gunshot as he pulled open the door, but he didn't care as much because he was finally out!

Kid Danger didn't slow down until he was two blocks away. He found solitude in an alley and slid down a wall. He tore his mask off, pressed a hand to chest, and tried to slow his breathing.

Suddenly, someone was there. They were kneeling in front of him, hand on his shoulder as they breathed with him. It took a few blinks to realize it was Jasper, watching him with worry and relief. To his left was Charlotte, already seated next to Henry and squeezing his hand. Piper was to his right, gnawing on her fingernails as her way of calming down.

"I told you guys to… To go back," Henry choked out. His throat was too dry to talk.

"We weren't going to leave you, idiot," Piper snapped softly.

Charlotte's head fell on his shoulder. Henry's rested on top of hers, and his eyes fell shut.

•••••

The broken Swellview sign was growing smaller in Gwen's rearview mirror.

She glanced at it once last time. "Good luck Henry," she sighed and slipped on her sunglasses. Gwen turned up the volume, and her car shook with Freddie Mercury and the rest of Queen's vocals.

 _I hope you kick his ass_.

* * *

Sorry if Ray is a bit OOC in this chapter. I tried to keep him as in character as I could, but you know. Anyways, thanks for reading. I'll update as soon I can. Bye :)


	11. art of persuasion

The next day, Kid Danger went to meet Veronica after school. She'd called him on the walkie-talkie and nearly got him caught by his math teacher. After clearing the class with no trouble, he answered her next to his locker and agreed to meet around four.

Veronica was leaning against a street sign at the bottom of the hill they were about to climb. They'd agreed to meet at the bottom of Sign Avenue and walk up together. She grinned when he approached.

"I hope I didn't get you in too much trouble today," she teased.

"Aside from everybody staring at me and my math teacher threatening to shoot me, everything was fine." Kid Danger sighed. "I can't believe I just said that my math teacher threatened to shoot me."

"It'll be weird to go back to normal after this, huh?"

"Definitely." Kid Danger tipped his chin back and gazed at the mountain they were about to climb. "I wish we had a better way of doing this. Can't we like hotwire a car or something?"

Veronica shook her head. "I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure that's a useless method now. Newer cars have technology and junk that prevents hotwiring."

Kid Danger sighed. "Fine, okay, let's go."

By the time they reached the first curve of the road, Kid Danger's forehead was already coated in sweat. It wasn't horribly hot that day, but the uniform made his skin boil. Thankfully, most of the road leading to the Swellview sign lookout was shaded with trees.

"So," Veronica began, gnawing on her lip, "how'd the thing go yesterday? With the doctor lady?"

Kid Danger sighed. In the midst of being kidnapped and managing to escape in one piece, he'd forgotten the whole reason they were out in the first place.

"It went well. She's on the team now."

"Cool."

"What'd you guys get into yesterday?"

Veronica shrugged. "Trouble."

"Well yeah, I figured."

She shoved him, and he laughed.

"We went to the mall and basically helped ourselves. Not having adults around is amazing. I don't know why you guys haven't taken advantage of it yet."

Kid Danger shrugged. "We've been too busy trying to save the city, I guess."

"What's the hurry? You'll never get a chance to do whatever the hell you want again."

He furrowed his eyebrows and frowned. "I don't know," he admitted. What _was_ the hurry? It wasn't like Minyak was threatening to take over the world or something (at least, not yet), and Veronica was right, there would never be another chance at this much freedom in their lives.

"I guess my top priority is saving Captain Man, then we'll worry about the rest of the city."

"Your top priority is saving a guy who's indestructible?" Veronica scoffed. "You really need to relax, you know that?"

Kid Danger bit back his words. There were very few people who knew of Captain Man's weakness to jolly beetle tears, and he wasn't about to let it slip.

"I don't think I've really relaxed in years," he chuckled.

"Neither have I. Believe it or not, juvie's a stressful place."

He looked at her. "Well, I never thought it was a _nice_ place to visit."

She stopped walking and blocked his path. "Did you tip off the police that I was the Mad Granny?"

He blinked. "What? No. I found out when they arrested you."

She narrowed her eyes. "If you had known, would you have turned me in?"

Kid Danger poked his tongue into his cheek as he looked from one eye to the other. "I don't know," he said softly.

Veronica pressed her lips together, turned on her heel, and kept walking.

"I never told Captain Man about it, though," he called as he caught up to her. For some reason, he didn't want her to be mad. She was a friend, or at least an ally, and he didn't want tension between them.

"Really?" she muttered, glancing at him.

"I… Never even told him I let you get away."

"Is that the truth, or are you lying again like the first time?"

Kid Danger swallowed. "It's the truth, I swear."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Why would you keep that from him?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, honestly. He'd kill me if he found out now."

"Why? It's been three years."

"He has a grudge against the Wall Dogs."

"Figures."

They walked in silence for a few minutes until they reached the trail that led right up to the sign. It was off the road and unmarked since _technically_ , it was against the rules to get that close to the sign.

Veronica led the way down the narrow path through tall grass and trees. Eventually, the plants disappeared, and the ground evened out to a cliff holding the glowing white letters of the Swellview sign.

Kid Danger took a seat at the edge of the cliff, just close enough for his feet to stretch over the side. Veronica sat next to him, though a few inches closer to the edge with a smirk.

"What, are you scared to sit at the edge?" she challenged.

He scoffed. "No way. Heights don't bother me."

Now they both sat at the edge of the cliff and overlooked the quiet city below. The stillness was unnerving. They lived in a _city_ , and cities weren't supposed to be _lifeless_.

Kid Danger chuckled. "I've never been up here in the daytime."

"It's ugly," Veronica admitted.

"Nuh-uh."

"Yeah huh." Her eyes dragged across the landscape slowly. "This city's trash, but at least there's _something_ pretty at night with all the lights."

"Hey, why're you so hateful?" he teased.

"Swellview's never been kind to me, so why should I be kind to it?" She scowled. "I'd leave if I could."

"Well… Why can't you? I mean, you're not in juvie anymore." He shrugged. "After this is over, why don't you just skip town?"

Veronica laughed, but there was no humor in it. She ran a hand through her hair and muttered, "You just want me gone, don't you?"

"No," he admitted. When she looked at him in surprise, he continued, "I don't think you're all bad, Veronica. If the situations were different, I think we could've been friends. But when this is over, and everything goes back to normal, the police are going to round you guys up. I just figure, if you don't want to go back, then leave before they can catch you."

"You just can't help yourself when a pretty girl is running from the law, can you?" she snickered. "Say what you want, you're still that herbert who could be swayed with a kiss." She leaned toward him and puckered her lips before withdrawing and laughing.

"I mean, well…" Kid Danger rubbed the back of his neck and turned his head, so she wouldn't see his cheeks flush. He couldn't believe the effect she still had on him!

He shifted his legs and tucked his left leg under his right. Well, he started to, but then pain jolted through his calf, and he chose to switch legs. Veronica watched the exchange with concern.

"How's the leg doing?" she asked softly.

Kid Danger sighed. "I guess it's doing better. I don't know. I trust Schwoz and everything, but he's certainly no doctor."

"Why didn't you ask the doctors while you were there yesterday, dummy?"

He groaned. "I don't know. Damn, that would've been a good idea! Yesterday was just… Crazy."

"All you did was take a walkie-talkie to some woman." Veronica rolled her eyes.

He wondered if that was a bit of jealousy he heard, but he didn't comment on it. Instead, "We didn't just take a walkie-talkie to some woman. After we crossed the highway again, someone was waiting for me."

She looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "Someone?"  
He nodded. "Her name's Gwen. She's a villain we haven't seen in a while. She took me to see Dr. Minyak."

Veronica's eyes widened the slightest. "Wait, does that mean you know where he's hiding out?" When he nodded, she continued, "Then what're we waiting for? Let's go take him down!"

"We can't just walk in there. Did you miss the part about the _entire city_ is under his control, and he can just as easily imprison us too? We need a plan, or at least more help." He placed his elbow on his knee and rested his chin in his hand.

Veronica crossed her legs and sighed. He bent his other leg and hugged his knees to his chest. The pair sat in silence for a few minutes watching over the city, lost in their own thoughts.

Finally, Kid Danger broke it, "Why do I have to be the one to deal with this?"

She looked over in surprise. He spoke softly, almost like he was talking to himself. Maybe he was so focused on his own ideas that he'd forgotten she was even there.

Still, she answered, "Because your dumb boss got caught." She snickered, hoping the jab would be enough to pull him from his thoughts.

"No, I mean… I have so many responsibilities as Kid Danger! More than R—Captain Man does. At least, that's what it feels like sometimes. He's great at crimefighting, but he's kind of insensitive, which leads dealing with people to me. But I'm horrible at talking to people!" He looked over at her. "I'm pretty sure I have social anxiety."

She nodded. "It happens to the best of us."

"And the _decisions_ …" Kid Danger buried his face in his arms. "If there's a fire, and there's been tons of fires, we have to decide who to get out first. Sometimes, we make the wrong decision and the building comes down before… Before we can get everybody out." He raised his head just enough for his eyes to peek over his arms.

Veronica took a deep breath. She leaned toward him and kissed his temple. He raised his head and looked at her in surprise.

Juvie made her tough in every sense of the word, but feelings made her uncomfortable. She didn't know how to handle them, not even her own, but she did know how to distract and change the subject. She was great at that.

Their faces were inches apart. Kid Danger's eyes flickered to her lips then back to her eyes.

"Do you know why I wanted to meet up today?" she whispered, shifting closer to him. "Because I wanted to forget whatever's going on down there right now, and I think you should to."

"Veronica, we can't—" he tried.

"Yes, we can. We can do whatever the hell we want, remember?"

She was still good at talking him into things. He looked at her lips again. He'd never told anyone this, but Veronica was one of the best at kissing. He never thought he'd have the chance again.

That's why _he_ closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to hers.

•••••

Charlotte turned her TV on in the living room once she arrived from school. It had become a routine thing to leave it on now, along with lights. Staying alone in a home as large as hers made her nervous, so anything to fill up the silence worked.

She was eating an oven-cooked pizza in front of the TV when something outside caught her eye. After a week, Charlotte had learned to simply turn the volume up and ignore the eerie feeling of mindless adults milling around her neighborhood. She would've done the same if she hadn't spotted a pair of teens walk past her yard.

Who would be crazy enough to walk around the neighborhood right now? After her neighbor tried to fight his way through a trio of women because he wanted Chick-Fil-A (nobody must've told him that Chick-Fil-A was lacking employees) the first day of the invasion, there wasn't another brave soul who dared step out of line. So, what were these people doing?

Charlotte peeked through her curtains curiously. The pair was walking in the middle of the street, a guy and a girl. The guy had a baseball bat, and the girl was carrying around a bottle rocket. They stopped in front of Charlotte's house and turned, gazing around the neighborhood thoughtfully. It was Bish and Kaden, one of the boys who attacked Charlotte and Piper the other day. Charlotte whirled away from the window when they turned her way, and she sighed, hoping she was quick enough.

The doorbell ringing made Charlotte's stomach drop. She sat her plate on the coffee table and hesitantly opened the door.

Kaden was scowling, but Bish was grinning.

"Charlotte!" Bish cried, barging past the girl.

Charlotte tried stopping her, but Bish was an unstoppable force. Kaden followed close behind, rolling his eyes at his classmate as he passed.

Bish had already made herself comfortable on the couch and was finishing off the last of Charlotte's pizza when Charlotte returned to the living room.

So, this was apparently happening.

"Uh," Charlotte began, raising an eyebrow as she glanced between Bish and Kaden, "so, what's up?"

Kaden claimed the loveseat on the other side of the room. He kicked his shoes off, stretched across the furniture, and began flipping through TV channels.

"That freak Minyak told us we had to walk around the town and look at stuff," Bish explained with a scoff.

"Walk around and—Sounds like he wants you to _patrol_ ," Charlotte explained slowly and clearly, like she was talking to a child.

Bish snapped her fingers, belched, and exclaimed, "That's it!" She glanced at the empty plate in her lap and sighed. "Hey, got anymore pizza?"

"Um, I don't think so." Charlotte glanced toward the kitchen as she sprouted her lie. There were plenty more frozen pizzas in the freezer, but they could be Charlotte's only source of food for a while.

Charlotte found a space at the very end between Bish's feet and the arm of the couch that she squeezed into. "So, are the rest of the Boom Brothers patrolling too?" She glanced at Kaden again; he was already dozing off.

"Nah," Bish answered, tossing the plate to the side. Charlotte jumped as it hit the ground, and she was relieved it didn't shatter. "My dumb brother and the rest of the Boom Brothers are probably lighting stuff on fire or something." She muttered under her breath, "Lucky."

Charlotte eyed the bottle rocket laying on the ground. "Looks like you were planning on the same thing."

Bish cracked a smile. "I was going to set it off in someone's backyard. Wanna come with us?"

Charlotte chewed on her lip. "As fun as that sounds…" She glanced at Kaden, then the window, then around her living room. An idea popped in her head, and she smiled. "Actually, what about showing me the Boom Brothers HQ?"

Bish's smile faltered. "Heh, I don't know…"

"C'mon!" Charlotte urged. "We're best friends, right? Best friends tell each other everything."

Bish pressed her lips together. "You have to swear you won't tell any of your idiot boyfriends."

Charlotte made a face. " _Neither_ of them is my boyfriend."

"Yeah, whatever. Do you swear?"

"I swear," she sighed.

"Okay, cool!" Bish jumped to her feet and yawned. She turned to Kaden and shouted, "Kaden, get up! We're heading back!"

Kaden woke with a snort. He looked around groggily until his eyes settled on Bish and Charlotte, waiting for him by the door.

"Fine," he whined, rolling off the loveseat and climbing to his feet.

Charlotte followed the pair out the door and down the street. She was hesitant and nervous, especially as they passed Henry's house. He definitely wouldn't approve of what she was about to do.

It was kind of payback though, wasn't it? He teamed up with people she doesn't trust and, while Charlotte didn't necessarily have much faith in the Boom Brothers, she believed they could be helpful. Whether they agree on who they recruit or not, there was one thing everybody could settle on:

There was strength in numbers, and they needed all the strength they could find.

•••••

The Boom Brothers hangout was inside the firework shop on Main Street, right next to the grocery store. It was an average sized square building with broken windows and a tarp in place of a front door. This shop was known for being sketchy and possibly illegal with explosives banned in America. Charlotte was not at all surprised that Mitch chose this place for his headquarters.

When they arrived, Mitch and Aiden had a kid cornered against a light pole.

"Please, let me go!" the boy begged. "I just wanted some yogurt!" He couldn't have been older than twelve, and he had tears running down his face.

"That's against the rules," Aiden growled, shoving the kid against the pole.

"Yeah, and you know what we do to rulebreakers around here?" Mitch asked. There was a wild glint in his eye.

"Hey!" Charlotte called.

Bish threw her arms around her friend and yanked her back. "Don't interfere, dummy," she hissed.

Mitch and Aiden had already spotted her, though. They abandoned the boy and joined the trio a few feet away. Charlotte watched the middle schooler take off toward a row of houses at the end of the parking lot, and she sighed with relief.

"What the hell Bish?" Mitch snapped, glaring at Charlotte. "Why'd you bring this dweeb?"

"I-I just wanted to see where the, uh," Charlotte racked her brain, "coolest—" They stared at her blankly, "—I mean, the _meanest_ ," the boys looked at each other and grinned, "group in Swellview hung out. Don't you guys work with THE Supreme Ruler, Dr. Minyak?"

Mitch scoffed. "We work _for_ him, not _with_ him. We're not _losers_ , loser."

"Why are you working for him at all?" Charlotte asked. "What's in it for you?"

"Uh, we get to wail on nerds and do whatever we want."

"You do that anyways."

"Yeah, but now there ain't lousy adults trying to give us detention or arrest us."

Aiden smacked Mitch's arm. "Dude, we should totally egg Ms. Chapin's house!"

"Dude, _sick_!" Mitch agreed.

Kaden abandoned the girls to join the boys as they headed for the shop to plan their next act of vandalism.

Charlotte looked over at Bish. "I thought you didn't like being the bully."

Bish didn't meet her eye. "I don't."

"Then why did you agree to this?"

She shrugged. "'Cause I like doing whatever I want."

Charlotte crossed her arms over her chest. "This isn't how you get people to stop being afraid of you."

Bish scoffed. Her face twisted in annoyance, and she snapped, "Oh stop, Ms. Perfect! You don't know what it's like. Look at my face!" She pointed at her face. "I'm the _definition_ of Resting Bitch Face."

"Well, teaming up with your bully of a brother and his equally as mean and horrible friends doesn't help either! Don't you want to do something good for once?"

Bish's lip curled into a snarl. "I don't know how, and even if I did, I'm not a prude."

"That's not what that word—" Charlotte sighed. "Look, I have an idea that could help you do some good."

"What is it?"

"I can't tell you until I'm sure you're in. So?"

Bish gnawed on her lip. She looked over her shoulder at the rundown firework shop. The boys' laughter was faint inside.

When Bish turned back to Charlotte, she shook her head. "Nah, no thanks."

Charlotte was a bit disappointed, not going to lie.

"I don't want to be Big Bad Bish, but I don't want to be a goodie-goodie either. Besides, working for Dr. Minyak is way more fun than someone like _Kid Danger_. Bleh, imagine being on his team."

"What if it's the winning team?"

"I don't care about _winning_. I don't care about anything but myself," she spat. "And don't you go blabbing about this place to your friends! We'll know."

"Trust me, I won't." Knowing the location wasn't really beneficial anyways. There was no reason for any of them to be on this side of the city.

Bish crossed her arms over her chest. "You better get out of here."

"Right, yeah." Charlotte sighed. "Thanks for showing me the place, though. It's… Nice."

The bigger girl nodded and headed for the building. Charlotte turned on her heel and began the long walk back to her house. She considered stopping by Junk N Stuff on the way back. Maybe somebody was there to hangout with. She'd even settle for Schwoz before she returned to her empty home.

Bish stopped just outside the doorway and looked at Charlotte's retreating back. Her eyebrows furrowed together thoughtfully before she disappeared into the shop.

•••••

Piper had just placed her cereal bowl in the sink when Jasper ran down the alley.

He happened to glance over at the right time and waved as he passed. He wasn't sure who exactly was standing in the window, but it was Henry's house, so of course he waved.

Piper scowled as she watched him disappear behind the fence. She figured he was heading to the hospital, and it irritated her! First Henry, and now Jasper? Charlotte was probably off doing something too! Why did everybody have plans except her?

Only a few minutes after they arrived from school, Henry was slipping his shoes back on and heading out the door. He didn't mention where he was heading, but he did stop to see if him leaving was okay with her. Her protective brother was a lot more tolerable now that she knew he was Kid Danger.

Actually, her brother in _general_ was a lot more tolerable now.

She let him go with a bored response and pretended to be absorbed by her phone. Really, her phone was useless. She'd spent more time off of it since this whole mess started than she ever had in her life.

Piper really didn't care where Henry was going. Sure, she was curious about it since she was in on his secret, and there wasn't much he could be doing anyways. Captain Man wasn't around, and she knew he wouldn't be out picking fights with the adults. So, yeah, she was curious, but as long as he came home later that day, she didn't _really_ care.

The only thing she cared about was her ever strengthening boredom that was as powerful as it had ever been. When they weren't sneaking around the city and plotting against Dr. Minyak, life was really boring. She tried making plans with her friends to meet up after school, but they're all scared of being caught. Wimps.

Piper walked back to the living room and turned on Netflix. Maybe she could find a show to binge and take up the rest of the evening.

Suddenly, the front door burst open. Piper spun around and screamed as a girl ran inside and slammed the door shut behind her.

"Who are you?!" Piper yelled.

The girl turned quick enough for the duffle bag on her shoulder to bounce against her back. They stared at each other for a moment, and then Piper remembered.

"You're… Max, right?" she asked slowly.

Max nodded. "Yeah, and you're Piper?"

"Uh huh. So, why are you in my house?"

Max shrugged. "Just running from a few mindless adults." She walked down the steps, tossed her bag to the side, and sat next to Piper on the couch.

"Why're they after you?"

"I tried tagging the side of the mattress store on fifth."

Piper tilted her head to the side. "Tagging? Like, graffiti?"

"Yep."

"Wait, are you the one who spray-painted the Captain Man symbol on the school?"

The corners of Max's lips lifted into a small smile. "Yeah, maybe."

"Dude, Minyak was so peeved!" Piper laughed.

Max snickered. "Really? Aw, I wish I had seen that."

"So, what were you trying to paint this time?"

"Nothing special, just 'Minyak sucks.' My creative juices are lacking after that Captain Man symbol. I just wanted something that would piss him off."

"Does anybody else know you're the one who did that?"

Max shook her head. "No. I don't think the rest of the Wall Dogs would like me tagging their enemies' symbol."

"Oh, right. I forgot you guys don't like Captain Man and Kid Danger."

"Well, _they_ don't." Max shrugged. "I have nothing against them really. They aren't the ones who arrested me after all."

Piper crossed her legs. "Do you think I could help out the next time you go tagging?"

" _You_?"

"I like to draw, and I've never tried graffiti, but it looks cool."

Max hummed. "Sure, if you want to. I wouldn't mind having someone around to keep me company. Veronica always wants to talk about Kid Danger."

"Haha, gross," Piper scoffed and didn't think about the fact that she was Veronica only two weeks earlier.

Max glanced toward the kitchen behind Piper. "Hey, do you have any food?"

"Yeah! Not a lot, but you can probably find something."

"Cool."

The girls headed to the kitchen and completely forgot about the bag of spray paint and swarm of adults searching for Max… At least for now.

•••••

The sun was starting to set over the Swellview skyline.

Kid Danger was leaning against the W in the Swellview sign. Veronica was next him, head on his shoulder as they watched the sunset.

"Are you ever going to tell me who you are?" she asked softly.

He didn't answer right away. At the beginning of the day, it was an easy no. But now, overrun with feelings he hadn't felt in a while and sitting with a girl he thought he'd seen the last of, he wasn't sure.

When he didn't answer, she turned to him. "C'mon Herbert," she pushed, poking the leather wrapped around his side. "It'll be our secret."

"Will it?" he replied, finally meeting her eyes. "The rest of the Wall Dogs hate me. How can I be sure they won't find out?"

"Because I actually _like_ you. If I didn't, I wouldn't protect you from them."

He chuckled. "Oh, you're protecting me now?"

"Well, someone has to. You make dumb decisions."

Kid Danger scoffed. "I do not!"

She pecked his lips. "Sometimes."

"Oh, shut up." He sighed and scratched his nose. "I'll take off my mask on one condition."

"Finally—"

"This _has_ to stay between us. Nobody can know, not even my friends."

Veronica smirked. "Deal."

Kid Danger took a deep breath. Slowly, he reached his hands up and peeled off his mask. He tossed it to the side and met her eye.

"I'm Henry," he said, flashing her a smile. "Nice to meet you."

"Henry," she repeated. "Finally, I can stop calling you Herbert."

"Oh? I thought you like that name?"

"It doesn't suit you."

Henry chuckled. He leaned forward and kissed her again.

A loud cackle from their walkie-talkies startled them apart.

"Kid Danger!" Althea called through the device. "Are you there?"  
Veronica shot him an annoyed look as he reached grabbed the device from his belt and pressed a button.

"I'm here," he answered. "What's up?"

"I have a request. There might be a way we can get more doctors over here."

Henry frowned. "How?"

"Some of our friends from class live a few blocks from the highway. If we can lure them over here and remove the mind control device, we can save more people."

Henry and Veronica looked at each other. Veronica grabbed her own walkie talkie and held it to her mouth.

"Uh, that's great and all, but how are we supposed to find them?" she asked.

"I have a theory that wherever the people were attacked, that's where they're most likely to be found. In other words, our friends were probably at their houses or the college, so it narrows our search."

Henry nodded. "Okay, that's a start. Veronica, how about we meet at Glass from the Past tomorrow at three to figure out a plan?" He glanced at her and smiled a bit.

Veronica snickered before pressing the button, "Yeah, sounds good. See you then."

They laid their walkie talkies beside them, and she asked, "So, are we in a secret relationship or something now?"

He shrugged. "I guess so?"

Veronica laughed. "You're such a dork."

Henry yawned. "We should be heading back."

"Aw, c'mon."

"We'll see each other tomorrow," he promised. He kissed her cheek and grinned. "After all, it's time for the Alliance's first mission."

* * *

sorry this wasn't very exciting. it's mostly a filler chapter, laying foundation for more important stuff. it's also literally 4 in the morning & i refused to sleep until i finished lolol

i got a job (yay!), which means a lot of my free time won't be so free anymore. i know that probably means nothing cause it takes me a month to update, but in case it takes me longer (reeaaallly hope it doesn't cause i'd like to finish this fic before the show ends), that's why

anyways, thanks for reading! i don't think i've said this enough, but really, thank you all for reading and leaving your reviews! they make me happy :)


	12. rescue mission

Previously on _Invasion_ …

Kid Danger revealed his secret to Veronica; Charlotte tried talking Bish and the Boom Brothers into joining the Alliance; Piper and Max bonded over graffiti.

And now…

* * *

Jasper, Henry, Charlotte, and Piper stood by their lockers the next day, anxiously waiting for the bell to ring and end the school day.

"So," Henry began, leaning against his locker and looking at Jasper, "how do we know who to look for?"

Jasper slung his backpack off his shoulder, unzipped the front pocket. "Their names are James, Ronnie, Tyler, and Erica. Althea made copies of their pictures." He grabbed two stacks of paper tied together in the corners with red string from his bag and held them up.

"See? I made them into a little booklet!"

Henry snatched one and flipped through it. Tyler Smith, pale skin and bright orange curly hair. Veronica Liu, fair skin and narrowed eyes. Erica Wallace, African-American with a dark brown afro. James Martínez, Hispanic with a scar across his cheek.

"Thanks," Henry replied, grinning at his friend. "These will come in handy."

The group fell silent as Dr. Minyak rounded the corner. He glanced at them briefly, mainly Henry before stalking out the front doors.

"He had Oliver in his office yesterday," Charlotte informed quietly while watching the man disappear out of the building.

"I know. When Oliver came back to class, he was crying," Jasper added. "Why would Dr. Minyak want to talk with him?"

Henry wrung his hands as guilt bubbled in his stomach. "Aha, well…" His friends' gazes switched to him, and he avoided eye contact. "Gwen kind of gave up his name to protect mine."

Piper frowned. "I thought Gwen was a villain?"

"She is! … I guess." Henry shrugged. "I think she just does whatever will benefit her the most."

"And protecting you benefited her?" Charlotte asked in disbelief.

"Well, she _did_ show me how to escape. Maybe she's on our side?"

"So, where is she now?" Piper questioned, looking around as if she'd see her.

"… She skipped town."

Jasper pressed his lips together. "Well, at least we won't have to deal with her again."

Charlotte eyed the teachers lingered by the front doors. There were more than usual, and although they were looking around the whole hallway, their gazes seemed to linger a bit too long on the group. She wondered if that was because Dr. Minyak was on to Henry's secret.

"Hey," she said, drawing her friends' eyes, "maybe we shouldn't do this right now. We've been drawing a lot of attention to ourselves ever since we got back. Don't you think we should lay low? Especially since Dr. Minyak is too close to finding out," she lowered her voice to a whisper, "Kid Danger's identity?"

"But… But we already told Althea that we'd do it," Jasper whined. He pouted. "She's really excited about it."

"After this job," Henry promised. "After this, we'll take a break I promise."

Charlotte sighed. "Fine."

•••••

Kid Danger held the walkie-talkie to his mouth as he peered around the corner of a building.

He pressed a button on the side and spoke clearly, "Hey Althea, we've just split up. Hopefully we can find your friends quick and make it back to the hospital."

The coast was clear. He glanced over his shoulder to motion to his group, but Spray Z beat him to it. The Wall Dogs flooded into the street without so much as a glance at Kid Danger. Piper followed right behind Max, and she patted her brother's shoulder as she passed. The superhero scowled.

Althea's voice cackled through the device as he trailed behind the group.

"Good! Please be careful!"

Kid Danger caught up to Spray Z, much to the Wall Dog's dismay. The eyeless teen rolled his eyes when Kid Danger joined him at the front of the pack.

"Don't roll your eyes," Kid Danger scolded. "I'm the only one who knows where we're going."

"I can't believe I got stuck with you," he scoffed.

"You could've gone with Veronica."

Spray Z tsked. He glanced to his left down a side street before briefly checking over his shoulder. Max was a few feet behind, chatting with Piper.

Kid Danger followed his gaze back to the girls, but he remained quiet. At least there was something they had in common.

"Where are these apartments anyways?" Spray Z demanded as he shoved his hands in his sweatshirt pocket.

"Uhh…" Kid Danger glanced at the GPS in his hand. They stopped by Junk N Stuff before meeting with the Wall Dogs to fill Schwoz in on what was happening and pick up some gear. Thanks to Schwoz, Kid Danger's group wasn't walking aimlessly through the city. "Looks like we're like five blocks away."

"Kay."

Kid Danger glanced at him and looked away. He wished Piper and Max would join them in the front, at least so somebody could feel the awkward silence.

"So, uh… What have you guys been up to lately?" Kid Danger asked lamely.

Spray Z raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you care?"

"I don't… Just trying to make conversation."

So much for that.

Besides the soft chatter from the Wall Dogs behind them, the pair walked in silence for a few blocks.

Kid Danger glanced at the GPS as they passed another street. They were two streets away from the neighborhood.

"Veronica came back last night sickeningly happy."

Kid Danger looked over at Spray Z in surprise. The Wall Dog was already looking at him, eye narrowed in suspicion.

"Uh… Huh?"

"Didn't she go out to meet you yesterday?"

"I don't… Yeah, I guess… But maybe she, like, I don't know, found a stray kitten."

"She's allergic to cats."

"Oh… That sucks."

Spray Z stopped walking and pulled Kid Danger to a halt. The group behind them froze, and every pair of eyes were on them.

"Let me make something clear," Spray Z began, voice cold as ice. "You're not going to fuck with Veronica again, got me? Otherwise, we're going to have a problem."

Kid Danger raised an eyebrow. "Okay, even if I was, uh… Doing _that_ … You can't tell me what to do."

Spray Z released Kid Danger and took a threatening step toward him. Kid Danger noticed the other Wall Dogs were on the defensive too. Somewhere in their mix was Piper, peering around a teenage girl's shoulder with wide eyes.

"You may have her fooled, but we ain't so easily persuaded." He gestured to the nine Wall Dogs beside them, tense and ready for a fight. "First, you swear you'll keep us out of juvie when this is over—"

"And I will—"

"Then you try messing with one of our own?"

"That's _not_ what I'm doing… At all!" Kid Danger shoved Spray Z away. His eyes darted when a girl closest to him lurched forward. She didn't attack, though they were both prepared for it.

"Hey," Max called as she and Piper pushed to the front of the group, "can you two save this for another time, please? Maybe when we're not out in the open and vulnerable to an attack?" She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed.

Spray Z looked at her, and his face softened. "Fine," he sighed. "Whatever." He threw a final glare at Kid Danger before continuing down the street. His friends followed, sneaking scowls and threatening looks at the superhero as they passed.

Piper hung back with Kid Danger while Max joined Spray Z in the front.

"He really hates you huh?"

"They all do," Henry answered with a shrug. "Max and Veronica are the only ones who don't, which is fine. I don't really blame them I guess."

"Is something actually going on between you and Veronica?"

Henry's eyebrows raised. "I don't think you've ever asked me about my love life." He snickered when she rolled her eyes.

"It's never been interesting before."

"Wha—Hey! At least mine is _existent_."

"I've had boyfriends!"

Henry hummed and shook his head. "No, you've had _crushes_."

"Don't make me hit you in front of everyone."

His eyes flashed as he grinned. "You can't _touch_ me, sis."

"Oh ho, wanna bet?"

Piper swung a fist at his side, and Henry dodged it with ease. She glared as he rocked on his heels and grinned.

"You should've taken karate with me, Pipes. Not only is a good way to deal with anger, but your fighting style is horrible."

" _Excuse me_?!" Piper hissed.

"Relax, I'm kidding." He nudged her arm and walked ahead of her.

 _Kind of_.

Piper fell back into step with him a second later as she grumbled under her breath. Kid Danger held the walkie-talkie to his mouth again and pressed the button.

"Veronica, how's it going over there?"

"It's—"

"Kid Danger!" Charlotte cried, startling the superhero.

"Hey!" Veronica cried. "What happened to the truce?"

"Just give me a second! Kid Danger, I have an idea to isolate our targets. You have some signal cancelling balls, right?"

"Uh…" Kid Danger looked to Piper, who nodded and revealed four silver balls from her pockets. "Yeah, we have some."

"Good, so I'm thinking we meet somewhere so two people can stay behind and take out whoever we don't need, and the others can get the four students to Althea and Mark."

"Okay, I'll stay behind," Kid Danger offered. "Who else?"

"I'll do it," Jasper volunteered.

"Then, that leaves the girls," Piper concluded. "And the others, I guess."

"How about we meet at Junk N Stuff?" Kid suggested. "That way we can hide out until we regroup."

"Sounds good," Charlotte agreed. "We'll see you in a little bit."

"Be careful, see ya."

Kid Danger ended the call and glanced at the GPS. The red pin they'd been walking toward for ten minutes was now only a block away. He nodded toward the group, and he and Piper rejoined Spray Z and Max.

"It's right up here," Kid Danger informed, pointing at a peach colored four story building. The closer they got to the street, the more apartment complexes were revealed. There were six all together, three on each side. The road rounded out to a cul de sac with cars peppered along the sidewalk.

There were adults milling around the street as they approached. Kid Danger fished the booklet out of his pocket and studied the students' faces. He had to look over the pages a few times because his thoughts were clouded with concern for Veronica and whatever was happening on their end. He hoped they were okay.

The group hid behind one of the apartment buildings. Spray Z peeked around the corner for a moment before turning to Kid Danger.

"So?" he asked. "Do you see them?"

Kid Danger blinked. He stepped closer to the corner of the building, squinted, and scanned the area for anything familiar. There weren't many people on this end of town, and they weren't all young adults. Two were elderly women across the street sitting on a bench.

Another was a middle aged man with sleeves of tattoos sitting on the curb a few feet in front of Kid Danger. There were others roaming around aimlessly like mindless gerbils; potentially harmless.

He wondered for a moment if they actually _were_ harmless. Like, maybe the ones who chased the teenagers only attacked because Dr. Minyak ordered them to.

"Hey," Spray Z snapped, shoving Kid Danger. "Talk."

Kid Danger rolled his eyes. He was just about to respond when something orange caught his eye. He inched forward and pressed his fingers against the building as he watched a guy walk along the other side of the street.

"Found one," Kid Danger announced. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Spray Z and a few others peek around the corner, so he pointed at the ginger. "James."

•••••

Choosing to lead a team certainly wasn't her first choice, but Kid Danger _insisted_. Veronica was the unofficial leader of the Wall Dogs, after all. Ever since Two Canz was transferred to another juvie out of the state, the role fell onto her. Still, that didn't mean she wanted it.

And she _especially_ didn't want to be stuck with Charlotte and Jasper. Ugh, she could've been with Kid Danger! Or, well, it was Henry now, wasn't it? Henry. The word made her smile because for once, it was actually _his_ name. His _real_ _name_.

Veronica glanced at Charlotte and Jasper out of the corner of her eye. Charlotte caught her stare and raised an eyebrow. Veronica's smile turned into a smirk. Charlotte's disapproval used to irk her, but now that Veronica was in on a secret between _only_ her and Henry (take that irritating best friends), she didn't mind as much. Knowing something Charlotte didn't was _amusing_.

The group wasn't talking much besides a few side conversations from some of the Wall Dogs. For the most part, they stayed with their groups. Jasper and Charlotte even walked a few inches away from the Wall Dogs; subtle, but not unnoticeable.

"So," Jasper began, glancing at Veronica and the Wall Dogs hopefully, "what kind of music do you listen to?"

"Screamo," a male Wall Dog with blue hair answered dryly. His friends chuckled.

"I like country music," someone answered from the back of the group. A few people turned and stared at him. Jasper even looked back in surprise.

"That's why you're at the _back_ of the group, Xavier," Veronica sighed with an eye roll.

Jasper wrung his hands. He watched Veronica for a moment before hesitantly asking, "What kind of music do _you_ listen to, Veronica?"

She scowled at him. "Rock. Now, shut up."

"Don't tell him to shut up," Charlotte snapped.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Veronica retorted.

"Hey, whoa, chill out!" Jasper cried, jumping between them. "We're on the same team, remember?"

Veronica scoffed. "Barely. I'm only tolerating you losers because Kid Danger asked me to."

"When did he ask that? Was it yesterday when you guys snuck off together?" Charlotte demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Uh, guys?" someone called.

"That's none of your business."

"Actually, he's my best friend; it _is_ my business."

"Veronica!"

Jasper's wide eyes switched to a figure running toward the girls.

"So, does that mean you're his _babysitter_ to?"

"Look out!" Jasper cried, jumping in the path of an adult barreling at them. He caught the woman's wrist right as she took aim and knocked the gun out of her grasp. Then, he kicked her in the stomach and held his breath as she collapsed in front of him.

The group was silent. Veronica's mouth parted, but she didn't know what to say. Her eyes were trained on the woman who almost took her out. Jasper turned, and she met his gaze.

"Why did you do that?" she asked softly.

Jasper's jaw clenched. "It's like I said," he explained, eyes darting from Charlotte to Veronica, "we're on the same team."

Veronica's eyes squinted. She nodded slowly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Can we please stop fighting now? We all want the same thing, don't we?"

Charlotte and Veronica shared a look. They agreed with a head nod.

"Soo… How about we put our differences aside and finish this?" Jasper suggested hopefully. He turned to the other Wall Dogs, and they seemed to agree with him. They were still hesitant, sure, but at least they could decide on one thing: This wasn't going to work if they were all fighting.

Charlotte outstretched her hand. "Truce?"

Veronica poked her tongue into her cheek. With a sigh, she grabbed Charlotte's hand and shook it. "Truce, I guess."

"Great!" Jasper cheered. "Perfect timing, because uh…" He grabbed his booklet from his back pocket. "There's some of our people." He pointed to a mass of ten or so adults walking around the front lawn of the college. He spotted even more just through the windows of the main lobby.

"How are we going to isolate them?" a Wall Dog to Jasper's left questioned.

Just then, a voice cackled through Veronica's walkie.

"Veronica, how's it going over there?" Kid Danger asked.

Veronica smiled and held the walkie to her mouth. "It's—"  
Charlotte lurched forward and grabbed the device. After a shout of protest from Veronica, the team devised their plan to separate their targets from the rest of the adults. Once the strategy was confirmed, the groups set the idea into motion.

It wasn't hard grabbing the attention of the adults. All they had to do was yell or wave their arms, and suddenly, every grownup in the area was after them.

Five minutes later, the teens regrouped in front of Junk N Stuff. They must've been quite the sight from above, a band of ten to fifteen teenagers running down a street with at least thirty adults chasing after them. Maybe when this was over, they'd look back and laugh.

Kid Danger and Jasper fell back to divert attention away from their friends. They ignored the four people they were originally after and focused on the mass behind them.

Piper looked over her shoulder as she ran, searching for her brother. By the time she just barely spotted his red and blue uniform, he disappeared. The only thing she could do was keep going and hope he knew what he was doing.

Jasper and Kid Danger split up, so they could surround the crowd. They each counted to three in their heads before tossing the signal cancelling devices across the ground. In mere seconds, the adults began dropping like flies.

Across the highway, the girls and Spray Z barely had a chance to catch their breath before they had to turn and take out the four students only feet behind, guns in their hands as they prepared to turn the teens into zombies as well.

Althea fought back tears as she watched her friends collapse. She pushed back her emotions because she had a job to do, and not a lot of time. She and Mark rushed into the parking lot, medical bags full of equipment bouncing against their hips. They worked quickly and carefully, ignoring the tremble in their hands and the sweat on their foreheads.

Kid Danger's voice cut through the air once more, "You guys good? Did you make it?"

"We made it," Veronica answered with a deep breath. "Althea and Mark are handling it."

"Good," Kid breathed. Jasper said something out of range, and Kid Danger laughed.

Charlotte motioned for the walkie, and Veronica handed it over without a word. Charlotte slumped to the ground and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand.

"This is, right?" she asked. "We need to lay low for a few days."

"Yeah, yeah, you're right." Kid Danger sighed. "It's time for a break."

Veronica smirked suddenly. She rolled her head to the side and raised an eyebrow at Charlotte. "I have a great idea."

Charlotte pinched the bridge of her nose. "This can't be good."

Veronica snatched the walkie back and held it to her mouth. "We've been all work and no play since this all started. How about we have some fun?"

She could _hear_ the grin in Kid Danger's voice. He chuckled and asked, "What did you have in mind?"

* * *

I hate this chapter a lot. The ending is super rushed, and it was a pain to write. I'm already working on the next one & I plan to have it up later today. That way, if I accidentally leave you guys for nearly 2 months, at least it'll be on a fun note. I hope that doesn't happen, though. This chapter just really got me for some reason. I tried shortening it the best I could, but I really needed the bits of bonding in there for later.

Also, I want to say something really quick here. I love that you guys are enjoying this story and want me to update, but please don't leave comments that just say 'Update please!' Give me a little more than that, c'mon! Tell me what you think of this chapter. Give me your thoughts, concerns, complaints! I want to hear feedback from you all. Nothing motivates me more than seeing actual comments left on these chapters (and no, Update please! doesn't really count). I hate to sound like I'm fishing for compliments because that's not what I'm doing, but writing a whole book takes a lot of time and inspiration, and seeing someone just comment Update! kind of diminishes that motivation.

I really want to hear what you are thinking! Why are you still reading this, even though it takes forever to update sometimes? How do you think things will end? What do you think will happen next? I'm curious guys! :)


	13. misfits making mischief

Songs: _Bad Reputation - Joan Jett & the Blackhearts_ & _Cherry Bomb - The Runaways_

* * *

The Swellview Mall was one of the places untouched and abandoned in the city. Team Danger hadn't thought much of it, but the Wall Dogs had clearly been there a few times in the past week. If the front doors with shattered windows didn't give it away, then the way they casually ducked inside as though they'd done it before did.

"This place is a few blocks from the detention center," Veronica explained when she saw the confusion on Team Danger's faces. "This was the first place we hit when we got out."

"Did you have to break the windows?" Henry asked in disbelief.

She smirked. "We did more than break a few windows."

Oh, that didn't sound good.

Henry threw a knowing look at his friends over his shoulder as they followed Veronica inside. The rest of the Wall Dogs were already scattered throughout the mall; they took off once they got inside.

There weren't any lights on, but it didn't matter because the sun shone through the skylight covering the main mall lobby. There were a few skylights throughout the mall, so electricity wasn't needed.

Almost immediately, they noticed the walls, the store fronts, the kiosks spotted across the floor. Rainbows of graffiti were tagged across any and every reachable surface. They varied from actual, detailed pieces of art to random words sprayed in sloppy handwriting.

"Whoa," Jasper muttered. He and his friends spun in a circle, taking in as much as they could. The drawings didn't stop at the lobby. All three levels of the Swellview Mall were garnished with colors. There weren't many spots untouched.

"There is a beauty in Dr. Minyak enslaving all of the adults in the city," Veronica informed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"And what would that be?" Charlotte questioned. "Getting away with crimes?"

Veronica shrugged. "Yeah. It's like I said," she smirked at Henry, "we can do whatever the hell we want."

Suddenly, a rock song began blaring through the loud speakers. Cheers echoed from every corner of the mall. Max slid down the middle of the escalator, and the second her feet hit the floor, she ran over to them.

"Piper!" she called, stopping in front of the girl. "Come on, I found the perfect spot you can lay your first tag!" Her eyes shone with excitement, and Veronica nudged her knowingly. Max's face fell back to neutral when she looked at Veronica. "What?"

"Nothing," Veronica snickered. She and the other teens watched Max lead Piper away. As they ran up the escalator, Veronica turned back to the remaining three. "So, what are you guys waiting for? Let's raise a little hell!"

Henry and Jasper looked at each other with eager smiles. Charlotte still wasn't sure about doing this, especially not with the Wall Dogs (even with the truce, they are still criminals). She kept her arms crossed, even as her best friends dragged her through the mall.

•••••

Max lead Piper to the top floor near the bathrooms. There was an empty wall between a fake tree and the entrance to a furniture store. Next to the potted tree was a pile of paint cans and two black surgical masks.

To the beat of the music rolling through the speakers, the two girls set to work on filling the last free space together. Halfway through, Piper took a selfie with Max. Later, she would make it her lock screen.

Her friends were never going to believe this!

•••••

There was a train that drove around the entire first level of the mall. Usually, it was used as a ride for children, but not today.

Luckily, the train's operations weren't too difficult to figure out. Jasper hopped in the conductor's car, pressed a few random buttons, and yanked a chain above him. The train's whistle hollered and drowned out the music. Jasper twisted the steering wheel to the left, and the train followed!

Jasper quickly whipped his camera out and began filming. He stuck his head out the window, threw his hand up, and cheered.

•••••

Veronica was laying on a counter at a jewelry booth outside of Hot Topic. There was a pile of diamond necklaces and rings resting on her stomach. She held the jewelry up to inspect them shining under the lights before she pocketed them for safe keeping.

•••••

Henry and Charlotte high jacked two electric animal rides (a dog and a giraffe) near the food court, and they raced each other around the mall. They had to swerve around tipped over trashcans and broken glass, and they ducked under silly string dangling from store signs and light posts.

Charlotte took the lead as they rounded the corner and headed for the play area in front of Forever 21. At Henry's cry of protest, Charlotte tossed her head back and laughed.

•••••

Jasper and a few other Wall Dogs ran around the second floor in a frenzy, Nerf guns clutched to their chests as they avoided any darts aimed their way. Jasper found safety behind a poster, and just in time too! A boy behind him rounded a photo booth, only to be shot in the face by a girl ducking behind a trashcan ten feet away.

Then, another boy leapt over a bench, and shot the girl out with a dart to the arm.

Jasper made sure his gun was locked and loaded; these people really weren't messing around!

•••••

Charlotte found Piper and some other Wall Dogs trying on clothes in PacSun. Piper beckoned Charlotte closer and persuaded her to join them.

The two girls ended up filling three bags of merchandise.

•••••

In the food court, Henry hopped over the counter of Great American Cookies. As he searched for something to eat, a voice called out from behind, "I doubt there's anything edible in there."

He turned and met Spray Z's look of disbelief. He had his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.

Kid Danger shrugged. "We'll see." He turned and walked to the back of the shop. He heard Spray Z's footsteps hit the ground and follow him.

Just through a door next to the oven, the pair found three freezers packed against the back wall. Once the door shut, the music outside was muffled, and a soft hum took its place.

"Are those still on?" Spray Z questioned as he moved closer to the freezers. He pulled one open and stuck a hand inside.

"Is it cold?" Kid Danger asked.

Spray Z chuckled, mildly surprised. " _Freezing_."

Kid Danger opened another door and peeked inside. "Oh my god, look at all the cookie dough! Dude, we have to make some."

"What are you, a girl?" Spray Z scoffed.

Kid Danger grabbed a box of chocolate chip cookies. "Whatever man; I guess you won't get any cookies." He let the freezer shut behind him as he walked back to the front.

Spray Z's nose scrunched as he rolled his eyes. He scanned the freezer shelves, reading each label carefully.

Finally, he begrudgingly grabbed a box of sugar cookies and joined Kid Danger at the front counter.

•••••

By the time the sun was beginning to set, the teenagers were winding down. The smell of Henry and Spray Z's three dozen cookies wafted throughout the floors, slowly drawing everybody to the food court.

The first group to return was Veronica, Max, and a few Wall Dogs. A few minutes later, a train whistle cut through the silence left behind from whoever was responsible for the music grabbing their phone, and the rest of the crew arrived. Jasper parked the train next to the cookie shop, and everybody piled out.

Charlotte, Piper, and Jasper had at least two bags filled with clothing or accessories. Jasper had three, but that was only because Henry left his on the train.

The crew pushed tables together and began passing around cookies. As they ate, the teenagers conversed with each other about nothing special. Some discussed school, others talked about their home lives or what they dreamed of doing one day. Spray Z even pat Kid Danger on the back for his cookies.

"They aren't _terrible_ ," he'd said.

The sun disappeared from the skylight, and the moon was rising to take its place.

"We should get going," Charlotte mentioned, even though the idea disappointed her.

Kid Danger nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right." His eyes scanned the mess of tables they'd created in the center of the food court. The groups were mixed now; gone was the separation of Team Danger and the Wall Dogs. Everybody was getting along, finally. Kid Danger chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. "This is insane."

Veronica nodded as she looked over her friends as well. "Isn't it? Who would've thought we'd be sitting here _together_ , having _fun_?"

"Hanging out with Kid Danger and his friends hasn't been as terrible as I thought it'd be," a Wall Dog with green hair sitting next to Jasper admitted. Some of his friends mumbled their agreements.

"Yeah, maybe you guys aren't as bad as we originally thought either," Charlotte added. She smiled when the girl next to her, a science geek named Olivia, nudged her with a grin.

Jasper began recording again. He panned the camera down one side and up the next, making sure to capture everyone. Some caught him and flashed a peace sign, others stuck out their tongue or smiled. When it reached Kid Danger's end, the superhero winked, and Veronica made rock signs with her hands.

Spray Z gasped. "Dude, have you been filming everything too?!"

Jasper nodded, eyes wide. "Yeah!?"  
Max face palmed. "Great, now there's _two_ film geeks."

As Spray Z and Jasper chatted about combing their footage, Kid Danger mentioned, "Charlotte said something earlier, and I think we need to take her advice." He looked over his friends. "We've been doing a lot of stuff to draw Dr. Minyak's attention, so I think we need to lay low for a few days. At least until Althea's friends wake up."

Veronica nodded. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

"Do we have a plan for ending things yet?" Max questioned.

Kid Danger shrugged sheepishly. "I'm kind of just winging things here."

"For now," Charlotte added, "the best thing we can do is work on downsizing Dr. Minyak's numbers. Maybe we can help reunite some kids and their parents, or maybe we can find some adults who can help us defeat Dr. Minyak." She looked at Kid Danger and shrugged.

"Uh, there's another thing," Piper interrupted. She leaned forward, so she could see them better. "I know we've been busy and everything, but my friends and the other middle schoolers are scared. So are the elementary kids. Some of them don't have older siblings to look out for them. While we're laying low, we need to check on them and make sure we're okay."

"We're going to need more help for that," Kid Danger realized as he looked at Charlotte.

Charlotte nodded. " _You_ need to lay low more than the rest of us. I have some friends at school who will help." She turned to the Wall Dogs. "And if any of you want to help, you're more than welcome."

"I'll help," Olivia volunteered.

"Me too," a boy behind her agreed.

Veronica nodded slowly; she was still surprised at how well everybody was getting along. "How long are you planning to lay low for?"

Kid Danger shrugged. "A few days probably. I don't want it to be too long; it's already almost been two weeks since this all happened."

"Yeah, any longer and we won't graduate," Jasper joked, but there was a realness to it that nobody wanted to admit. Graduating wasn't something they were exactly looking forward to, but that didn't mean they wanted it to never happen.

Max pushed back her chair and yawned. Veronica and the others took that as their cue to leave. Chairs screeched across the tile, and the teenagers exchanged short goodbyes.

Jasper gathered whatever cookies were left over into a box he found behind the counter of one of the restaurants. He planned to take them to Althea the next day.

"You guys good with getting out of here by yourselves?" Veronica asked with a smirk.

Henry rolled his eyes. "I think we can manage it."  
"All right. Good luck, Herbert." She kissed his cheek when he scoffed. "Don't let me go a few days without seeing you."

"I won't," he promised softly. His eyes squinted as he watched her leave. There was still a weird feeling in his stomach about dating her; it made him uncertain.

"I didn't think about having to carry this home," Piper whined as she lugged a shopping back over her shoulder.

"It's not too far," Henry reassured. "It's only like eight blocks."

She scowled, and Henry snickered. He ruffled her hair, much to her displeasure, and nudged her toward the door.

As Charlotte and Jasper followed, she asked, "Hey, will you stay at my house for a few nights? I don't like being by myself."

Jasper took a deep breath. "Oh my god, _yes_. Staying by myself scares me."

Charlotte grinned, relieved. "Okay, good."

So, Team Danger and the Wall Dogs went their separate ways once they exited the mall. The teenagers disappeared into the dark streets, secretly looking forward to a well-deserved break.

And they better enjoy it, because the worst is yet to come.

* * *

I consulted my friends, my family, and the internet for ideas to write this chapter. I tried thinking of things from the Purge, until I remember that movie is mostly about killing people. I watched the Jimmy Neutron movie, half for inspiration and half because I just love that movie. Honestly, the possibilities for what these guys could be doing if they weren't in constant danger and instead under the same circumstances as the JN movie are endless. The mall limited it, so I think that's why I had some trouble.

I'm curious. Tell me my beautiful readers:

 **If you could do anything in the world knowing you won't face any consequences, what would you do?**

Personally, I think I'd just steal a bunch of stuff. Clothes, accessories, maybe a new car? Yeah, that would be pretty cool.

Anyways, this chapter took a turn. The next chapter will actually be an unplanned one, but that's okay because it actually makes things a bit easier in the end.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! :)


	14. the other kids

Previously on _Invasion_ …

The gang hung out at the mall, breaking the rules and going crazy. It was supposed to kick off a few days of laying low, but Charlotte has something she has to do first.

And now…

* * *

At 8:30 AM the next day, Charlotte strolled into the library with her backpack and a notebook in her hands. She was greeted by the rest of the senior class officers: Bianca (Vice President), Melvin (Treasurer), and Sidney (Secretary). Seated at surrounding tables were the freshmen, sophomore, and junior class officers. They eyed the older kids curiously and turned to chat to each other. Melvin smirked; he adored the attention.

"Morning," Charlotte greeted as she took a seat next to Bianca. "Thanks for meeting me."

"No problem, but what's this about?" Melvin asked. "We can't do shit with the situation we're in."

Charlotte nodded. "I know, just bear with me." She switched her gaze to the younger students. "Hey, I'm Charlotte. I'm the senior class president. Can we start by going around the room and introducing ourselves and our positions?"

Bianca smiled. "I'm Bianca, senior class vice president."

Sidney waved shyly. "Sidney. Senior class secretary."

Melvin nodded at the young kids, a sly grin creeping on his face. "And I'm Melvin, senior class treasurer. And single."

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Ignore him."

One by one, the other kids introduced themselves. Some of the underclassmen were quiet and reserved. Others spoke with confidence that could rival Ray's. The more outspoken ones made Charlotte relax a bit. She was worried they'd have to deal with shy teenagers, which was fine, but would've made things a lot harder.

Charlotte looked around her peers. "So," she sighed, "I know the last week and a half have been hard and scary—"

"That's an understatement," a sophomore girl named Courtney (treasurer) muttered. "A teacher shot one of the boys from our class!"

"Yeah, but that was Brady's fault," her friend, a male named Jake (president) added. "He literally attacked Mrs. Peters with the pencil shavings from her sharpener."

"He thought he was saving us!"

"If he attacked an armed, brainwashed person with _just_ pencil shavings…" the junior vice president, a boy named Will who Charlotte recognized from the academic team, joked, "then it's just natural selection at this point."

Melvin and a few others snickered.

Courtney glared. "Why aren't you guys more concerned about this? He was shot, like with a gun! He was my best friend, and I haven't seen him since!" Her eyes began to water. "I don't know what they did with him."

The group fell silent at this information.

Charlotte was quick to jump in, though. "Well, good news. He's not dead! The guns the teachers have won't kill anybody, but the bullets contain the mind control device, so…" Charlotte trailed off; she realized being mind-controlled probably wasn't that much better of an alternative.

"So, when this is all over, he'll be okay?" Courtney asked. Her tear filled eyes shone with hope.

Charlotte smiled and nodded. She wanted to promise that everybody affected by the mind control would be back to normal, but Althea hadn't checked in yet on how her friends were doing. Or if they were even awake yet. Charlotte worried how long it would take for them to come out of their slumber.

" _If_ this ever ends, you mean?" Melvin argued. He leaned on the table and turned to his peers. "We don't stand a chance against Dr. Minyak. You know that, right? Captain Man was probably captured and enslaved like the rest of the adults, and Kid Danger has been MIA."

"Don't you remember the Captain Man symbol on the building out front?" Bianca retorted. "Kid Danger is out there. He's going to save us." She smiled, sure of her answer.

Melvin rolled his eyes. "You're just saying that because you're in love with him."

"Who isn't?" a boy muttered, but Charlotte didn't see who.

"Kid Danger _is_ back; I've seen him," Charlotte concluded. "I'm sure he's doing everything he can to stop Dr. Minyak. In the meantime, we have our own job to do."

Sidney frowned. "What do you mean?"

"We've been so worried about ourselves that we've forgotten there are middle schoolers and elementary kids who are probably more scared than we are." Charlotte sighed. "Some have older siblings, but a lot of them don't. We need to check in and help however we can."

"How are _we_ going to help?" the freshman secretary asked. "I'm an only child… I don't know a thing about kids."

Charlotte nodded. "I am too, that's why we aren't doing this alone. When we finish here, I want you guys to ask around and find people who are willing to help us out. I know some girls in our class who work at the daycare a few blocks from here." She looked at Bianca, one of the daycare employees, for confirmation, and Bianca nodded with a smile. Charlotte continued, "Try to find at least five of your classmates and meet by the front doors at nine. Then, we'll head to the elementary school first."

"What's the plan with this?" Bianca questioned. "How are we going to help them?"

"These kids need someone to look out for them, so here's what I'm thinking: We pair up a few kids with teenagers."

"You're joking," Will declared dryly. "You can't seriously be thinking of trusting irresponsible teenagers like ourselves with taking care of literal children?"

"We don't have a choice. The adults are gone, and we're next in line. Those kids can't care for themselves; they don't know how to. We have to step up and watch out for them, or people will _actually_ start dying."

Will's gaze fell to the table. Courtney and a few others stared at Charlotte with wide eyes. Others' faces paled. The library was still.

Although harsh, Charlotte knew it was accurate. She only hoped they weren't too late.

•••••

Thirty minutes later, Charlotte stood by her locker with her friends as she watched the student council officers gathered in front of the school with their chosen helpers.

"I was worried they wouldn't show up," Charlotte admitted with a sigh of relief.

"I assume you gave them a tear jerking speech that really moved them," Henry joked.

Charlotte pressed her lips together. "Actually, I think I scared them. It worked, though!"

The front door opened, and something shoved through the crowd of students. Many of the underclassmen turned to glare at whoever was pushing past them. There were grunts and familiar empty threats that gave the person away immediately.

"High schoolers are so annoying," Piper grumbled when she finally reached the gang. Two Wall Dogs trailed behind her slowly, distracted as they looked around the hallway.

"This place is so cool," Olivia commented. "Way better than my last high school. It's weird not seeing graffiti on the walls."

Olivia's friend Nick rolled his eyes as he observed the students. "Great, more people to look at us like we're criminals."

Nick wore black jeans with chains hanging from the belt loops, black boots, and a black tank. His hair was black as well with streaks of blue, and his pale skin was marked in ink of various designs.

Olivia had on faded blue jeans with large holes cut into the knee and fishnet leggings underneath. Her shoes were black platforms, and her neck was decorated with black chokers. She wore a black crop and an oversized green and black flannel with the sleeves pushed up. Her hair was a wavy purple bob.

"It's not that," Henry reassured. "Normally, you'd blend in because there are plenty of emo kids in high school. They're looking at you funny because you're not wearing one of these dumb uniforms." He glared at his brightly colored t shirt, then he looked at them, smiled, and outstretched his hands. "By the way, I'm Henry. Piper's brother."

It was odd pretending like he didn't know who they were, like he hadn't just spent half a day with them going crazy in an abandoned mall. Taking off the mask and reverting back to his civilian self was weird sometimes.

Olivia smiled. "Olivia, nice to meet you." She turned to Piper and muttered, "Does he know you guys are working with Kid Danger?"

"Yeah, he's just shy and likes staying in his room all day." Piper grinned when Henry rolled his eyes.

"Okay, we should probably get going," Charlotte decided. She stepped past her friends and raised her voice, "ALRIGHT, LISTEN UP!" The crowd silenced and turned to her expectantly. "We're going to the elementary school first. I'll explain more when we get over there, but basically, we're going to group the kids who don't have older siblings with teenagers."

The front door opened again, and this time, the crowd parted like the Red Sea. Oliver Pook peeled off the crowd and sprinted down the hallway in the other direction, screaming.

Dr. Minyak stormed through the hallway with Nurse Cohort hot on his heels. They stopped in front of Charlotte, and the hallway fell silent.

"Where do you children think you're running off to?" Dr. Minyak demanded, crossing his arms over his chest.

Charlotte glanced at her friends over her shoulder. Nobody was brave enough to help her. Except for Henry, of course, but she shoved him back when he tried to stand next to her. He was supposed to be lying low more than the rest of them. Dr. Minyak was this close to discovering his secret identity.

"We need to visit the middle and elementary schools," Charlotte explained. She raised her chin and met the man's eye. "We need to make sure they're okay."

"They're fine. I haven't heard a single complaint, and they haven't caused any trouble." Dr. Minyak glared at the high schoolers. "I can't say the same for you _delinquents_."

"We still need to check on them. They're probably scared to death."

"And? Why should I care?"

Charlotte glared. "Some of them are too young to fend for themselves. Unless you want dead kids to deal with, you need to let us see them."

"My cousin is at the elementary school!" Olivia cried. She stepped forward and glowered at Dr. Minyak. "I haven't seen her since this shit show started. She better still be in one piece when I check on her, or so help me God, I'll tear you to pieces and feed you to my dog."

Dr. Minyak glanced at the brand on the girl's arm. He recognized Van Del's symbol anywhere. His mutts were wild and unpredictable, and Dr. Minyak guessed this girl was no different.

He pressed his lips together and turned to Nurse Cohort. She seemed to be on the same page as him; neither wanted to face the wrath of a Wall Dog. Adults were evil enough, but outraged teenagers with still developing hormones? Sometimes, it was hard to guess which was more dangerous.

"Fine," Dr. Minyak finally agreed. He drew a walkie talkie from his coat and held it to his mouth. "Officer Wilson, bring two trucks to the high school. I have children who need to be transported."

"Roger that," Officer Wilson confirmed.

"Don't think you're going to try any funny business," Dr. Minyak warned. "My men will be watching you like hawks. You're going to visit the two schools, and then you're going to come right back here. No detours, no distractions. I'm sure you've seen it already, but my minions will not hesitate to shoot." The corners of his lips twitched proudly.

Charlotte nodded slowly. "Right, I understand. We won't try anything."

Dr. Minyak hummed, satisfied. He turned to Nurse Cohort and ordered, "Stay here and wait for Wilson to explain what's going on."

Nurse Cohort frowned. "Okay, but what will you do?"

When Minyak turned to the teens again, his gaze fell on a tall blond in the back. "I'm going to have a talk with _him_." He pointed to Henry, and the attention switched to him.

Henry chuckled nervously. "Me? Why me?" He shared looks with his friends. They were all fearful, anxious about what would happen next.

Dr. Minyak grabbed the boy's shoulder and led him in the opposite direction toward the principal's office. His grip made Henry's shoulder sore.

"I have a hunch," Dr. Minyak explained as they walked, "and for your sake, you better hope I'm wrong."

Though, Minyak had a feeling he wasn't.

•••••

A few minutes later, Officer Wilson arrived in front of the school with two transport buses. When the students caught sight of them, they began to get cold feet.

"I don't think I want to do this," a freshman whined. "Why don't we just stay in here where it's safe?"  
"It's as safe out there as it is in here," Jasper tried reasoning.

"Yeah," Charlotte agreed. "Besides, Dr. Minyak already cleared us to go, and they won't act without his permission."

"Or mine," Nurse Cohort added. She smirked at the teens.

"Are you going with us?" Piper questioned.

"Of course. Someone has to make sure you brats don't try anything. And when Dr. Minyak is finished with your friend, I'm sure he'll join us as well."

Piper glared. "What he's doing to him?"

Charlotte gently tugged Piper forward as the crowd began filing out the front door. Jasper followed the girls and blocked Piper's view of Nurse Cohort.

"Henry will be fine," Charlotte reassured.

"How do you know?" Piper ripped her arm from Charlotte's grasp. "Doesn't Dr. Minyak think one of you is Kid Danger already?" She looked from Charlotte to Jasper. "What is he going to do if he discovers Henry's secret?"

"I don't know," Charlotte admitted quietly. "But, remember that Henry has beaten Dr. Minyak before. A few times, actually."

"With Captain Man's help!"

"It doesn't matter! Henry is more capable of things than you give him credit for."

Jasper nodded. "Yeah, I mean, he's already escaped Dr. Minyak once. He can do it again."

Charlotte, Jasper, and Piper climbed onto the back of a truck and sat next to the Wall Dogs and other seniors and juniors. The sophomores and freshmen were on the other truck.

"So, what's the plan?" Bianca asked.

Charlotte sat up straighter as the curious stares tried pinning her down. "We need to first figure out who has older siblings. We'll split up and hit every classroom. Find the class list and ask every kid who their sibling is. Whoever doesn't have an older sibling will be assigned to one. Preferably fourteen and older."

"And the middle school?" Piper questioned.

"Same thing, kind of. We find the siblings of the elementary kids, and if they're old enough, then they're fine. If they're not at least thirteen, they need to be paired with a high schooler."

"I don't know if I can take care of a kid," a junior admitted. She was sitting next to Olivia; their hair almost matched. "I can barely take care of myself." She laughed it off, and others agreed.

"I know what you mean," Charlotte admitted. "I'm an only child, so I've never had to look out for someone else. Jasper can relate, too." Jasper nodded to confirm. "But, as much as we hate to think about it, we're the closest things to adults right now. We need to step up and take the lead because the younger kids need us."

"And, hopefully, this will only be for another week or something," Jasper added.

"We need to figure out food, too," Sidney interjected. "Like, is someone going to provide us with that or…?"  
"We can go steal some," Melvin suggested. "No rules, right?" He grinned.

"Holy shit, yeah! Why haven't we been stealing cars or something?" somebody cried.

"Because they'll shoot us in the head if we make a wrong move."

The truck fell silent.

Then, "You're kind of a downer, Xavier."

Charlotte took a deep breath and gazed around the truck. She was so fixated on keeping everybody calm and focused that she already forgot about the team member they left behind.

•••••

The principal office's door slammed shut, and Henry spun around to face Dr. Minyak and the gun aimed at his head. He barely had time to widen his eyes before a bullet was shot, and he twisted his body to the left. The gun was shot two more times, one at his right shoulder and one at his head. He twisted and ducked and scrambled to the safety of the principal's desk. Henry ducked beneath the furniture and pulled his knees to his chest.

"I knew it," Dr. Minyak breathed. "I knew you were Kid Danger. Who else would be dumb enough to try and stand up to me?"  
Henry took a few deep breaths. He turned on his knees and peeked over the top of the desk. Dr. Minyak didn't have the gun anymore; it wasn't in sight. Henry took that as a cue that things were safe, for now anyways.

"Okay, so what do you want?"

"What do I _want_?" Dr. Minyak scoffed, and then he laughed and rolled his eyes. "I want you to stop plotting against me. I want you to surrender. Most of all, I want you to become one of my minions." He fired four more shots, and Henry dropped behind the desk again.

"You're wasting your bullets," Henry warned. "You can't hit me."

"I did once."

"That—" Henry scoffed. "That doesn't count. My back was turned."

"It still hit though, did it not? And I was _so close_ to taking control of your mind…" Dr. Minyak sighed. "I am actually here to discuss something with you."

Henry squinted and remained in his hiding spot. That sounded suspicious.

"What is it?"

"Why don't you come out of your hiding place and face me?"

"Nah, I'm good." Henry listened carefully for any floorboards squeaking, signaling Dr. Minyak's movements. He was safe at the moment behind that desk, but the villain could surprise him at any moment.

"Fine, whatever. I need you to stop whatever you and Van Del's puppets are trying to achieve around the city."

"Why? Are you worried we'll actually defeat you?"

Dr. Minyak laughed, and it was patronizing. Henry clenched his jaw in frustration. "Hardly," the scientist sneered. "But, your rebellious actions are starting to inspire other students, and believe it or not, I don't really want to take out a bunch of children. You're not worth wasting my bullets on."

"What else would you be using them for? Aren't you keeping them around for when we step out of line?"

"Don't flatter yourself. I'm getting bored of Swellview. I'm saving my bullets for my next strike."

Henry's stomach rose to his throat, and his mouth dried. Next strike? Was Dr. Minyak planning to take over _another_ city? The idea made Henry dizzy.

"Take my advice, Henry: Call off your friends. I have secret weapons, and you will _not_ stand a chance against them."  
Henry scoffed. His hands clenched into tight fists as he spat out, "I'm not scared of you or anything you throw at me." Henry jumped to his feet and spun around to glower at the man. "Fuck off, Minyak."

Dr. Minyak's lips curled into a bitter smile. "Can't say I didn't warn you," he sang as he turned on his heel.

Henry raised his wrist and shot a laser at Dr. Minyak's head. Just his luck though, the scientist turned to reach for the door just as the laser narrowly missed his nose.

For a moment, Dr. Minyak was shocked. But then he smiled, stepped back into the room, and drew his gun once more.

"Thank you for reminding me about your little toy. Hand it over." He held his hand out expectantly and clocked the gun.

Henry's livid gaze never left Minyak's face as he unhooked his watch and slipped it off his wrist. He considered trying the laser again, but the gun was so close to his body that he figured the risk wasn't worth it.

When the watch fell into Minyak's hand, he pocketed it immediately and lowered the gun.

"Until we meet again, Henry." The man smirked.

The second the door shut, and Henry was left alone in the room, all of the anger flooded out of him. He collapsed into the principal's chair, rested his elbows on the desk, and dropped his face in his hands.

•••••

Charlotte hadn't stepped foot into the elementary school since she graduated from the fifth grade. Now, walking through the front doors of the building, the nostalgic memories came rushing back.

The front hallway was quiet. Their feet squeaked across the tile, and the sound mixed with the soft whispers coming from their group. Jasper made a comment about always fighting Henry and the other kids to be line leader, and despite the eeriness Charlotte felt as he gazed around the corridor, she smiled.

"Okay," Charlotte began, turning to face the group, "let's split up. I don't care what age group you take as long as we get everyone. Make sure you get every kid's name and make a note if they have an older sibling. If they do, write that sibling's name down and their age."

The teens nodded, and they scattered. Some went left, and others went right. If memory served correctly, the left had younger students, and the right had older.

"Do you guys want to do the younger or older kids?" Charlotte questioned as she turned to her friends.

"Older," Jasper answered.

Piper nodded. "Yeah, older."

Olivia shrugged. "I'm good with whatever."

"Okay, then let's get going."

As they walked down the hallway, Nick remarked, "I miss elementary school." He veered to the left and touched his fingers to sloppy drawings pinned to a bulletin board outside of a classroom. When they passed the classroom, Charlotte peeked inside and spotted Sidney and Oliver nervously inching their way into the room. The children either watched them curiously, or they stared at their desks as their teacher took roll.

"Hey," Charlotte called to her friends. She waved them over and stepped into the room. She didn't completely trust Sidney and Oliver alone. They would either get distracted or be overpowered, and not just by the teacher. Either way, they could probably use some help.

Oliver waved blankly. "Hello."

Jasper followed Charlotte silently, but in his head, he was wondering why of all people, they had to be stuck with _Sidney and Oliver_.

"Oh god," Piper whined.

"What?" Olivia asked.

"These two are literal idiots."

A young girl next to them whispered, "Are you with the mean people?"

Jasper shook his head. "No, we're the good guys."

This made the child grin.

"Make it quick," the teacher spat.

Charlotte and Jasper looked at each other. Jasper motioned for Charlotte to go first, and she rolled her eyes as she walked past.

"Okay, um…" Charlotte stared out at the sea of children, and she realized she had _no idea_ how to talk to kids. How could she tell them what was going on in a language they would understand?

A boy sitting in the middle of the room raised his hand. His head was bald, and he was wearing a green hoodie.

Charlotte pointed at him. "Yes?"

"I haven't seen my mommy and daddy in a while," he answered quietly. "Where are they?"

His classmates muttered their agreements. They looked to the teenagers with wide eyes filled with curiosity and fear.

Charlotte's mouth opened and closed, and she turned to her friends for help.

"They are, um," Jasper tried, rocking on his heels, "they're in a meeting… A meeting for-for adults. It's really boring."

"When will they be back?" a child with a squeaky voice asked.

"How come the teachers aren't with them?" another added.

"Why is Ms. Toliver so mean now?"

"Why does she yell at us?

"I want to go home!"

"HEY!" Piper shouted, silencing the kids. She stepped in front of Charlotte and crossed her arms over her chest.

Charlotte sighed. This was just what they needed, somebody else to scare these kids to death…

"Captain Man and Kid Danger are going to bring your parents home," Olivia interrupted in a surprisingly soft voice, "but for now, we need you guys to stick together." She ignored the glare Piper was giving her from her left. "We're going to call your name, and you tell us if you have an older sibling or not, okay?"

The children nodded obediently. Olivia turned to Charlotte and whispered, "Help me find the class sheet."

While they searched, Jasper turned to Nick. "Why is she so good with kids?"

Nick shrugged. "I heard she came from a big family. I think she had to take care of her younger siblings a lot."

"So, how did she wind up with you guys?" Piper added.

Nick pressed his lips together. "You know how it is. Parents split up, families don't stay together. Her dad got custody of her, and her mom got everybody else."

"That's so sad…" Piper sighed.

"Yeah. Call me selfish, but I'm kind of glad it happened that way." Nick watched Olivia call out the first child's name. When she located the kid, her smile lit up, and she asked him a few questions. Her smile made Nick grin.

"She's my best friend," he continued. "Who knows where I'd be if she'd gone with her mom."

Jasper nodded. He could understand where Nick was coming from, to an extent at least. Jasper couldn't imagine how different he'd be if he hadn't met Henry and Charlotte.

After reassuring the kids, it didn't take long to go through the list of names and pair them up with each other. Those students who didn't have an older sibling of at least thirteen were written in a notebook Charlotte borrowed from the teacher's desk, along with the students they were paired with. At the top of the page, she wrote: Ms. Toliver 3rd Grade.

Basically, the system went as follows: A child who does not have an older sibling is paired with a classmate who does. If the older sibling is thirteen or younger though, they don't get another kid to look after. If the older sibling is in high school, then they get at least two more children.

It was a big task and a lot to ask of some people, but it was the best chance they had at making sure every child was looked after.

Three and a half hours later, the high schoolers met up in front of the elementary school.

"That was the most unorganized thing I've ever done," Bianca admitted with a huff.

"I know, sorry," Charlotte apologized. "I know that was probably confusing, and honestly I don't know if this will work, but we have to try something."

Jasper asked, "So, what's next?"

"Next, we stop at the middle school. Same thing, plus we have to see if any would be willing to take in an elementary kid."

"This is going to take forever," Melvin whined as he stomped toward the truck.

"I know," Charlotte sighed. _Believe me, I know_.

•••••

By fourth period, Henry was bored of school. Most of his classmates were gone, and nothing was happening in class. So, he decided to sneak away to Junk N Stuff.

The whole trip over, he was extra careful every time he moved from one building to the next. He felt like there were always eyes on him now, watching his every move.

Because of this, Henry entered the Man Cave through the tubes instead of going in the front door.

"Hey Schwoz," he greeted as he walked down the stairs.

"Hello," Schwoz replied. He was standing around a table covered in random parts that didn't look to fit together at all. "How are things?"

Henry eyed the table of parts suspiciously as he answered, "Not good. Uh, what're you doing?"

"I'm trying to create something to fight against Dr. Minyak. Why are things not good?"

"Uh, 'cause Minyak knows my secret identity." When Schwoz's mouth fell open, Henry nodded and added, "Yeah, so if you have any ideas on how to wrap this up, I'm all ears."

"We can wipe his memory."

"I doubt we can get close enough to try."

"Hmm…" Schwoz rubbed his chin. While he considered ideas, Henry sighed and stepped around him to sit on the couch. He needed to give his leg a rest.

"Wait a second," Schwoz suddenly gasped. "Of course! Why didn't I think of this before!"

"What? Think of what?"

Schwoz had that eager glint in his eye, the same one that sparked to life every time he talked about a new invention. Henry rose with hope.

"Everything Minyak is using to control them probably runs on electricity. All we have to do is kill the power to the city."

"That could work!" Henry leaned on the couch to take pressure off his injured leg. "What about the thing you used when you saved us from Frankini?"

Schwoz nodded thoughtfully. "It will take me a few minutes to get set up, but I can get it running again."

"Hang on." Henry grabbed the walkie talkie from his backpack and pressed the button on the side. "Hey, Althea? Have your friends woken up yet?"

For a moment, there was static. Then, Althea's voice cut through, "Not yet. We have successfully extracted the mind controlling device, so they're just resting now. We don't know when they'll wake up."

"What if they don't?" Veronica asked.

"They should!" Henry could hear the forced optimism in Althea's tone. He shared a look with Schwoz.

"Their vitals are fine," Althea explained. "Their brain activity is… Strange, but not alarming. Other than that, they're healthy and relatively _should_ be awake."

"So… Why aren't they?" Veronica pushed.

"I don't know…"

Henry frowned. "Maybe it just takes a few days. I mean, they were _literally_ brainwashed. You said their brain activity is weird, so maybe they just need some time to recover."

Althea took a deep breath. "You're probably right. I know there's no harm in letting them sleep for as long as they can… I just miss them. They're my best friends."

Henry smiled halfheartedly. "They're going to be okay, Althea."

"Ugh," Veronica groaned, "this sappy shit is disgusting—"

"I thought it was sweet," Schwoz muttered, dabbing his eye with his sleeve.

"—but speaking of friends, have you heard from ours?"

"What're our friends doing?" Althea questioned.

"Uhh Charlotte, Jasper, Piper, a few Wall Dogs, and some kids from our school are visiting the elementary and middle schools today to check on the kids. I think they're going to assign them to high schools, so they aren't home alone and fending for themselves. I guess they're doing okay; I haven't seen them since this morning."

"Oh, that's so thoughtful! I bet that was Jasper's idea, huh?"

Henry pressed his lips into a knowing smile, and he and Schwoz shared a wide eyed look. What was that in Althea's tone? Admiration? Hmm…

Veronica either didn't pick up on it, or she didn't care. "No, it was Piper and Charlotte's. Jasper's a loser."

"Excuse me—" Althea retorted.

"Hey, whoa, okay," Henry quickly interrupted. "We're done talking about Jasper."

"Finally," Veronica muttered.

"Listen, my friend and I think we have a way to shut Dr. Minyak down for good."

"Who's your friend?" Althea asked.

"It doesn't matter—"

Schwoz scoffed.

Henry rolled his eyes. "His name is Schwoz. Anyways, he can cut all of the power to the city, which means he can kill Minyak's mind control program."

"Sweet," Veronica praised.

"So, I'm thinking that once the others get back, we meet up and take him down."

"Uh… I don't know if that's such a good idea right now," Althea admitted hesitantly.

Henry's eyebrows furrowed. "What? Why not?"

"We don't know exactly what the mind control does to people. My friends haven't woken up yet, so there could be a side effect we aren't seeing. Give us a few days to figure it out, and I'll get back to you."

"No way! Althea, we need to stop him now! This has gone on long enough—"

"I know! But we need to be smart about this. Right now, he's not doing any more harm than he was yesterday. We can survive a few more days."

Henry looked at Schwoz. The short scientist looked sheepish as he nodded to agree with her.

"Veronica, what do you think?" Henry sighed.

Veronica was quiet on the other end for a moment. She was either really thinking about this, or—Nah, Henry doubted she was actually considering the options.

"I don't care either way, honestly," she finally said. "She's right, though. Minyak hasn't really done anything recently that we should be worried about."

"You mean besides enslave an entire city?"  
"Yeah. I mean, he's enslaved them sure, but it's not like he's killing people."

"He's threatening to shoot kids—"

"Kid Danger," Althea pleaded, and hearing that name made Henry freeze, "trust me, okay? Give me two days. I'll check in with what I found out, and then we can figure out our next move. I know you want to save everyone, so do I, but we have to be careful about this. I imagine Dr. Minyak is going to be on high alert after everything we've done recently. He'll be waiting for us."

 _Me more so than the rest of you_ , Henry thought solemnly. He was sure Dr. Minyak would be watching for him like a hawk. Maybe Althea was right… Maybe _Charlotte_ was right. They needed to lay low for a few days, now for more reasons than one.

"Okay," Henry agreed with a sigh. He dragged a hand down his face. "Okay yeah, you're right. Keep me updated on your friends."

"I will," Althea promised.

Henry laid the walkie on the table and sat back down. He rested his face in his hands. "I just want this to be over," he groaned.

Schwoz sat across from him. "I know," he replied.

"I hate having to think like a hero." Henry raised his chin and rested it on his palms. "Like, I was arguing as Henry Hart until Althea called me Kid Danger, and then I remembered I had to decide for everyone, not just my friends. What if there _is_ something more to removing the mind control device? What if their brains are messed up, and Althea can't fix it? What if killing the power kills _them_?"

Henry clenched his jaw and squeezed his eyes shut. "I miss Ray."

Schwoz watched helplessly from across the table. He wished now more than ever that he was better at comforting people. "I know, I know. I miss him too."

"I knew what I was signing up for when I agreed to the job, but I didn't think I'd have to become _that_ superhero so fast." Henry shook his head. "I'm only seventeen."

"Imagine how Ray must've felt growing up," Schwoz commented thoughtfully. He was just speaking his ideas to the room; there were probably no ulterior motives behind it.

"What?"

"I mean, I imagine there were a lot of people asking for his help with a lot of scary things. He told me about this one time when he was younger, there was a house a few blocks down on fire. The fire department wasn't there yet, and there was still a woman trapped inside. Ray's dad pressured him to save her because Ray couldn't get hurt."

"How old was he?"

"Fifteen, maybe?"

"Well… I mean, that's not a big deal, right? Ray's indestructible."

Schwoz shrugged. "Yeah, but he's not immune to fear. His dad probably made him do a lot of scary stuff he wasn't ready for when he was younger. He had no choice but to be a superhero."

Henry was quiet as he thought over this information. Ray had always mentioned despising his dad when he was younger, but he never went into detail why.

Henry never let his own line blur between his civilian and superhero lives. He always tried keeping them separate, two different people. However, the same couldn't be said for the way he viewed Ray Manchester and Captain Man. Without even realizing it, Henry saw them as the same person. He saw the same brave, daring, never-afraid-of-anything guy who he'd looked up to since he was thirteen.

He never realized until now how different the two men are. Captain Man was dauntless and self-centered, worried about saving the people of Swellview, but more concerned about how he looks on camera after deed is done.

Ray Manchester was still self-centered, but he was also kind of caring and sensitive. He worried over Henry getting hurt. He was protective over villains endangering his loved ones.

Captain Man only had two goals: Defeat villains and look good in the public eye. He had nothing to lose. Ray Manchester had everything.

"What if I mess up and somebody gets hurt?" Henry asked quietly.

"Do what Ray does. Keep them alive, and make sure you don't let it happen again." Schwoz watched the boy with a caring gaze, something he never would've guessed he would've had had he not met Henry Hart. "You can do this, Henry."

"I'm scared."

Schwoz nodded. "I don't blame you. Things are terrifying right now."

Henry scowled, ready to complain that _thanks Schwoz, that didn't help at all_.

"But," Schwoz snickered when he saw Henry's face, "being scared means you have something to lose. Fight for it."

•••••

"Aren't you kids about done?" Officer Wilson snapped as Charlotte walked toward the truck. He glared at the teenagers passing him carrying boxes of food and cases of water.

"I don't understand you," Charlotte admitted as she lifted her box of food onto the truck. She pushed it forward until Melvin grabbed it. She then turned to the officer and crossed her arms. "You're a Swellview police officer. Why are you helping Dr. Minyak take control of the city?"

Wilson glared. "I don't have to explain myself to you. Get on the truck," he raised his voice, "all of you! Let's go!"

"Why did you turn your back on your city?" Charlotte demanded.

"You can get on the damn truck on your own," Wilson growled, "or I can force you."

Jasper stepped between them. He grabbed Charlotte's arm and guided her to the truck.

"This is the heaviest lifting I've ever done," Melvin complained when everybody was inside.

"I knew you didn't even lift," a senior muttered, and a few boys snickered and laughed.

"So, now what?" Bianca asked, offering Charlotte a smile.

"Now, uhh… I guess we split this food up between the schools. We'll need a few people at the elementary and middle schools every day just to stay with the kids and make sure they're okay. Oh, and we need to assign the kids to high schoolers when we get back to school."

"This whole thing is unorganized as shit," Melvin teased.

"Hey, at least she's trying," Jasper snapped.

"How long are we supposed to keep this up?" Sidney asked. He looked around at his classmates. "Forever?"

"No way," Bianca argued. "Kid Danger will stop Dr. Minyak and put an end to this. I'm sure of it."

Jasper had an idea, and he brought his camera out. With it sitting discreetly on his lap, he began to record their conversation.

"If this doesn't end by the end of the month, what do we do about graduation?" a senior baseball player asked. "Like, are we just not graduating?"

"We could have our own, I guess," Charlotte shrugged.

"Yeah! The school probably has our diplomas somewhere," a girl reasoned.

"Our parents won't be there, though."

"Oh yeah…"

"I never thought my parents wouldn't see me graduate high school."

Charlotte and Jasper shared a look as the mood in the truck plummeted. It was all fun and games until somebody hit them with another hard truth. Their parents never seeing them graduate sent chills down many people's spines. It was something none of them had thought of.

"What are your plans after high school?" a junior girl asked curiously.

"Oh, I'm enlisting in the military," somebody replied.

"I want to be a pediatric doctor," Bianca answered with a smile.

"I'm taking a gap year."

"I'm moving to New York to study music."

"I have to stay home and take care of my dad, so I'm just taking classes at Swellview Community."

"I have no idea."

Listening to everyone talk about their future plans seemed to lighten the mood. For the rest of the trip, everybody forgot about their circumstances. The atmosphere was lighthearted and hopeful.

Jasper smiled. He panned around the truck slowly, making sure to capture every student's face. He wanted to ensure these people would be remembered. These were the people who went out of their way to make sure the younger Swellview generation was safe. The people he grew up with, mostly. He may not be close with them, but they were still his classmates. His peers.

Despite whatever bad things were happening in their world, this conversation gave them all a bit of hope. Their futures still looked bright, at least in their minds. And as long as their dreams were hopeful, then damn it, they had to be too.

Maybe… Maybe they'd make it out of this alive.

* * *

this book is officially a whopping 102 pages on Word! i've never, ever written a book over 100 pages! this is so exciting :D

also, hmmm. this took a turn even i wasn't expecting. looks like they finally have an effective way to take down dr. minyak. will it work? ... that's a good question.


	15. beginning of the end

Four days.

There hadn't been any activity in _four days_. Nothing outside of Charlotte Bolton and the rest of her student council visiting the younger children in the city. Dr. Minyak had been on his toes, watching and waiting for Henry to try minimizing his numbers again or another hopeless attempt at stopping the scientist in his tracks, but there was nothing. In fact, the teen had completely fallen off the grid. That maybe he'd _actually_ listened to Minyak? Backed off the situation? The idea seemed ludicrous at first, but as the days passed in silence, Dr. Minyak was beginning to believe it.

"You've barely moved from those monitors in days," Captain Man teased. "Are you _bored_?"

Dr. Minyak scowled. He swiveled in his chair and glared at the rugged superhero in the corner, still chained to the wall with his face blotchy with bruises and a smirk on his face.

"Of course not," Minyak sneered. "I'm just… Marveling at the fact that your idiotic sidekick actually listened and chose to back out of the fight."

Captain Man rolled his eyes. "I highly doubt that."

"I think you overestimate him. I did too, at first." Minyak shrugged. "I expected your sidekick to put up a better fight, but it's been two weeks since I took control of this city, and I doubt he even has a plan. I believe the proof is in the last four days of silence."

"You might regret not capturing him when you had the chance." Captain Man raised an eyebrow. "Why did you let him go, anyways? I thought you wanted him 'dead or alive' or something."

"Like I said, I gave him too much credit in the beginning. I expected him to have as much fight in him as you, but I was sorely disappointed. Without you by his side, Henry Hart is nothing more than a harmless child. Sure, he had a few small wins, but looking at the big picture," Minyak shrugged, "he is no threat to me. This city is mine, and I'm ready to move on to the next."

The superhero glared. "It's not over yet."

"Actually, it is. I'm sending Officer Wilson out tonight with the police force to capture the next town." Minyak grinned wickedly. "My empire is growing, and there's nothing you can do about it. How's it feel, Captain Man? How's it feel knowing you've finally lost?"

Dr. Minyak rose from his chair and stalked out of the room, his maniac laughter echoing off the halls. The door slammed behind him, leaving Captain Man alone in the blue glow of the monitors, gritting his teeth and going over his plans for revenge for the sixth time that day.

•••••

 _Beep… Beep… Beep_

Althea scratched her forehead with her pen. She was leaning against the wall of an operating room, restlessly watching her friends' unmoving bodies. They lay on beds in the middle of the room, each hooked up to IVs in the arms and pads pressed to their heads. Monitors surrounded them, little black screens displaying a variety of colors and graphs to represent pulse and brain activity.

"How are they doing?" Mark asked as he quietly slipped into the room. He had two cups of coffee in his hands. He handed one cup to Althea and joined her on the wall.

"Their pulses are still steady, just like they've been for the past four days." Althea tipped her cup back tentatively. She tasted just enough of the liquid for her tongue to burn. "And I'm no neurosurgeon, but their brain activities appear to be evening out as well. I'm guessing they didn't wake at first due to shock the mind control device did to their brains. Not fatal or permanent, but the body needed time to heal and readjust."

Mark nodded thoughtfully. "So, when do you think they'll wake?"

Althea shrugged. "Any time, hopefully."

 _Tick… Tick… Tick…_

Althea yawned.

Mark turned to her. "Why don't you take a break? You've been in here for two days."

"I'm fine," Althea reassured. "Really. This is just practice for when we're residents, right?"

Mark chuckled. "Yeah, I guess."

 _Tick… Tick…_

 _Gasp!_

Mark and Althea froze.

A figure adjacent to Althea suddenly jolted upright. It was Tyler, the one with pale skin and curly hair. His wide eyes searched the room frantically, like a frightened animal.

Mark set his coffee on a table before rushing to his friend. "Tyler," he called, gingerly grabbing the boy's shoulders. "Ty, buddy, it's okay! It's okay. Calm down." Mark shook his friend gently. "Look at me, all right? You're okay."

Tyler's eyebrows furrowed. "Mark?" He pressed a hand to his chest and took slow, deep breaths. His head was pounding, and his vision was blurry, but he could recognize Mark anywhere. "What happened?"

Althea joined his bedside with a soft smile. "How do you feel?"  
Tyler glanced between them and tried piecing things together. "I, uh… My head hurts."

"Where?" Althea demanded.

"Here." Tyler pressed a finger between his eyebrows, and he was surprised when his skin met with a soft bandage. "Wait, what the—"

"It's a long story," Mark explained. He gave Tyler a lopsided grin and squeezed his shoulder. "I'm just glad you're awake, Ty."

Althea sighed, gazing across the remaining three. "Now, let's hope the others aren't too far behind."

•••••

Piper found Henry in the living room after school, sprawled out on the couch with a movie on. He had a bowl of popcorn pressed to his side, half eaten. He'd barely moved from that position in the last four days. Ever since his encounter with Dr. Minyak, Henry decided it'd be best for him to stay off his radar (and if that meant missing school, then… So be it).

However, Charlotte insisted the other three need to stay in school. It might look suspicious if they _all_ disappeared, after all.

For the past two days, Piper had snuck away from the high school and joined her actual grade. In the craziness of everything, she hadn't realized how much she missed her friends. Life had been wild, but it didn't provide the familiar drama that her friends did.

Now, she had tea that she needed to spill, and Henry was the only one around.

"Henry!" she shouted.

Her brother jolted in surprise and knocked the bowl of popcorn into the floor. Kernels bounced across the wood floor, and he groaned at the idea of cleaning it up later.

"What?" he whined.

"Mom isn't here, and I need advice."

Henry begrudgingly sat up. He wished he still had his watch, so that he could knock her out and avoid this whole conversation. Harsh? Yeah, maybe, but no harm, no foul.

"Please don't talk about boys," he begged under his breath.

"There's this boy in my class—"

Henry groaned again, louder and more obnoxious. He settled against the arm of the couch and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Fine, whatever. What's up?"

Piper sat at the other end of the couch. She crossed her legs and hugged a pillow to her chest. "How do I know if a boy likes me?"

Henry pressed his lips together. "Usually, we're always making excuses to be around someone we like. Jasper faked a stomachache freshman year, so that he could hang out in the nurse's office with Ms. Jackson."

Piper scrunched her nose. "Ew, he had a crush on the nurse?"

"Yeah." Henry shook his head in disbelief. "His taste in girls is weird. Sometimes, we can agree, and other times, he's faking illness to be around a woman with a massive unibrow." He shrugged helplessly.

"He seems to like Althea right now, and she doesn't have a unibrow."

"Ah, I know. She's actually _gorgeous_ ; they'd be good together."

"What else?"

Henry hummed thoughtfully. "How does he act around you?"

"He's always smiling, and he's really nice, but he's like that with everybody. He gave me this today though."

Piper reached into her back pocket and revealed a folded piece of notebook paper. She handed it over to him with the slightest bit of color to her cheeks. Henry acknowledged her blush with a smirk. Was it weird to talk about boys with his little sister? Yeah, but it was cute how much she obviously liked this guy.

"Is this a…" Henry unfolded the paper slowly, observing the picture carefully. "Holy shit, Piper. I mean, uh…" He chuckled. "Sorry."

"It's okay," she giggled.

"Why are you asking for advice? This guy obviously likes you!"

Inside was a pencil drawn portrait of Piper. It had to have taken a few days to finish. Her eyes were a little messy, curved lines in place of straight ones and pupils that weren't exactly the same size, but damn, this was beyond impressive for a middle schooler.

"Yeah," Piper smiled. "I actually just wanted to show this off because my love life is better than yours." She stuck her tongue out as he scowled at her.

Henry held the top of the paper with both hands. "Wow, this paper looks so easy to rip…"

"Don't you dare!" Piper launched toward him, pressing a fist into his chest and against his throat as she fought for the picture.

"Gah!" Henry choked, leaning as far as he could over the side of the couch. He coughed and shoved back at his sister with his free hand, trying to get her away from his throat, at least.

"Give it back!" she yelled.

Henry managed to push her away just enough for him to roll off the couch and scramble into the kitchen.

"Haha, you'll have to catch me first!" he teased, waving the paper in front of his face.

Piper blew a strand of hair out of her face. "You're going to regret this."

There was no doubt in his mind that that statement was true. Still, he was bored, and this was fun.

Henry smirked, and he made a run for his room. Piper leapt over the back of the couch as he passed, determined to jump on his back or tackle him before he could get too far. Unfortunately for her, Henry had experience in ducking and dodging from attackers. She fell on the ground inside of on her brother, and that only pissed her off more.

"Henry!"

•••••

A few houses down the street, Charlotte and Jasper were enjoying their downtime. Jasper had been staying at Charlotte's house for the past few days, and they could both sleep easier at night because of it.

Charlotte was more exhausted than usual with how busy she'd been with the student council and taking care of the other kids in the city. She spent every minute she could at the elementary and the middle schools. The only reason she'd seen Jasper in the past four days was because he was staying together. She hadn't had much contact with Henry or Piper.

She and Jasper were in the living room watching reruns of some cartoon. They took up both ends of the couch, and their feet stretched far enough to stop just inches of the other. They didn't really speak much, but that was fine. It was the type of silence that was comfortable.

"Is this what our lives would've been like if we didn't work at Junk N Stuff?" Jasper asked suddenly.

Charlotte frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Just… School, then home? Nothing to do?"

"We probably would've joined some kind of extracurricular, don't you think?"

Jasper shrugged. "You would've, definitely. I might've, but I don't know about Henry."

She snickered. "Maybe he would've joined the Man Fans."

They laughed at that.

"Imagine how different things would be if Henry hadn't become Kid Danger, though."

Charlotte hummed thoughtfully. "I never thought about it, honestly, but I'm glad that he is. I couldn't imagine just sitting on the sidelines during this whole thing."

He shook his head. "You wouldn't be sitting on the sidelines. You'd probably figure out whoever Kid Danger was, track him down, and force him to let you help."

Charlotte chuckled. "Yeah, maybe."

"I _definitely_ would be too scared to do anything."

"We all would be, let's be honest."

"Henry wouldn't."

"Uh, yeah he would."

"No… I don't think so." Jasper played with his hands. "Even if Henry wasn't Kid Danger, he's still the kind of person who would fight back. Remember when he told us about his interview? He jumped on that guy's back even though he thought the guy was dangerous. And when we were kids, he was always the one standing up to bullies!"

Quietly, he added, "Henry's always been the brave one, and you've always been the confident one."

Charlotte's eyebrows furrowed. "Hey, what's going on?"

Jasper sighed deeply. "I just… I wish I could be like you guys, but I'm not. I'm the one who gets picked on, and I let it happen. I can't defend myself for shit."

"That's not true! Remember when Dr. Minyak had you, Piper, and her friends hostage at Henry's? You fought back then."

"That's only because Henry and Ray were there. I knew if I was in trouble, one of them would save me."

"You said you were going to smash a vase over someone's head."

"It didn't work; they caught me."

"But you tried! Even if you were scared, you _tried_ to fight back. That's what counts, Jasper. You're braver than you think."

The corners of Jasper's mouth twitched. "Thanks, Charlotte."

Charlotte smiled. Movement behind Jasper caught her eye, but only for a second. There were always adults roaming the streets now; it wasn't anything new to her anymore. However, this figure looked different than other. It was _familiar_ , and it caught her breath.

She sat up suddenly. Jasper's eyebrows furrowed, and he asked, "What's wrong?"

Charlotte jumped from the couch and raced over to the window. Jasper was quick to follow her, and they peeked through the blinds together.

"Oh my God," she whispered. Tears gathered in her eyes.

A man stood in her front yard, dark sunglasses covering his distant eyes as he faced the house. It gave Jasper the creeps, but Charlotte wanted to cry with relief.

"Who is that?" Jasper questioned.

"It's my dad."

She moved almost too fast to catch. She zipped around Jasper and bolted for the front door. Jasper was hot on her heels, calling her name and reaching for her arm.

"Wait, wait, hold on a second!" He caught her by the wrist and yanked her to him.

"Let me go! I need to see him."

"He can't—Charlotte—" Jasper swallowed thickly.

"I know." She sighed. "I just—I haven't seen him in weeks, Jasper."

"But what if he…" He didn't want to say it, but Charlotte's dad might _attack_ them, and he couldn't let Charlotte go through something as traumatic as that.

Charlotte stared at him for a moment. She knew he was right; the adults' behaviors were sporadic and likely dangerous. Dr. Minyak could have an ordered placed on the adults in Henry's area to keep an eye on him and his friends.

She returned to the window. He disappeared, almost like he was never even there.

"He's gone," she sighed.

"I'm sorry Char," Jasper said quietly.

"It's okay; you were right anyways."

Jasper didn't respond. Instead, he pulled her into a tight hug. He rested his chin on top of her head and rubbed her back soothingly.

Charlotte buried her face in his shirt, and neither acknowledged when a soft sob into his chest.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Jasper and Charlotte separated, and they shared a wary look.

Charlotte peeked out the window again, but she couldn't see who was at the door.

Jasper approached the door cautiously. He motioned with his hand blindly for Charlotte to stay back as he reached for the doorknob. There was another knock, this time more frantic than the last, that made him jump.

He cracked the door just enough for him to peek outside. To his surprise, Piper was standing on the porch with her arms crossed. She wasn't looking at him, though. She was facing the street, watching for any adults.

Jasper frowned as he pulled the door open all the way. Henry stood next to Piper, one hand in his pocket and the other holding his walkie talkie.

"Hey, we gotta go," he informed. He peeked past Jasper's shoulder and asked, "Where's Charlotte?"

"I'm here," she answered, stepping around Jasper. She squinted at a cut on Henry's face. "Were you attacked?"

Henry frowned for just a moment before he realized what she meant. "Aha, kind of…"

"He stole something of mine," Piper explained dryly.

"Listen, it doesn't matter. We have to get to Glass from the Past, now."

"Hang on, let me grab my shoes," Jasper muttered as he retreated back into the house.

Charlotte motioned them in, and she shut the door behind them. "Why? What's going on?"

Henry grinned. "Althea's friends finally woke up!"

•••••

Spray Z was filming when Team Danger walked through the store door. Jasper was also filming from his perspective, and they nodded to each other when they made eye contact.

"Hey, it's been a while," a Wall Dog greeted.

"It's been four days," Max argued.

"It's been a _long_ four days," Veronica corrected. "So, I hope you've finally got a plan, 'cause we're getting bored."

Kid Danger nodded. "Yeah, it's kind of different than what we've been doing, though. Instead of luring more people to Althea for them to heal, what if we just take them down all at once?"

Veronica raised an eyebrow. "How do you propose we do that?"

Kid Danger pressed a button on his walkie talkie and spoke, "Hey Althea, you there?"

"We're here!" she answered. "All of us."

"Wait, is that Kid Danger?" a voice asked in the background.

" _So cool_ ," another gushed.

Kid Danger glanced at his friends, and they snickered. He rubbed the back of his neck and awkwardly greeted, "Hey there. We're going over the plan to defeat Minyak."

"Awesome!" Mark cried.

"Our friend has the machinery to cut all the power in Swellview," Charlotte explained. "If we attack while Dr. Minyak's mind control devices are disabled, he'll be defenseless."

"We could end this tonight…" Olivia realized quietly.

Jasper nodded. "We can finally stop him once and for all."

The teens shared looks of bewilderment and hope. After all this time, the end of the tunnel was finally within view. It didn't seem real.

Kid Danger looked over his friends and nodded. "I know what you guys are thinking, and yeah, it would be great to finally put an end to this by the end of the day. I know we can do this, but it won't be easy. Dr. Minyak will no doubt be waiting for us to make a move, so we have to be prepared for anything."

"So, how is this going to go?" Max demanded.

Kid Danger smiled.

•••••

Jasper peeked around the corner of a building. His eyes scanned the empty street for any signs of life before stepping into the open.

"Clear," he announced.

Max followed him down the sidewalk, hands in her pockets. They walked in silence, not really knowing what to say to the other.

Max pulled at her sleeves and glanced at him a few times. There was something on her mind, but she didn't know how or even if she should bring it up. It had been bugging her for a while, but this was one thing she didn't think Veronica could help her with.

As they walked down the hill toward the highway, she began, "Hey, um…"

Jasper looked over at her.

"Don't you dare judge me for this."

"I won't," he promised quickly. Jasper watched her curiously; he had been expecting a silent trip to the hospital.

"Do you, uh…" Max looked away, feeling silly for even being embarrassed about this. "How do I… Talk to girls?"

Jasper blinked. "Girls?"

"I told you not to judge me!"

"I'm not! I promise! I just…" He shrugged. "It surprised me, but I swear I'm not judging you. Can I ask who you're talking about?"

"No."

"Okay…" Jasper hummed. "How much do you know about her?"

"Not a lot…" Max chewed on her lip. "We haven't… We haven't known each other very long."

Hm, that gave Jasper an idea of the girl in question.

"Well, why don't you start with asking her questions about herself?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Ask her about what kind of movies she watches, or what music she likes listening to. Girls love when you ask them about themselves."

Max nodded thoughtfully. "Okay… How do I tell her I like her?"

Jasper hopped over the divider in the center of the road, and then he waited for her to cross before continuing, "Well, find out if she likes you back first. Rejection sucks trust me."

"You think she'll reject me?"

Jasper's eyes widened. "No, no! I mean, I don't know, I mean—" He inhaled sharply. "Shit, _shoot_ ," now he's swearing around kids, cool. "God, I'm so bad at talking."

Max chuckled. "It's okay."

He took a deep breath to gather his thoughts. "Look, I'm going to be honest. Rejection is always a possibility, and there isn't much you can do about it. Sometimes, they just don't like you back." He shrugged. "And that hurts, but you have to accept it. That doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a shot, though. Just give it time, see if she likes you back first."

"How do I know if she likes me back?"

"She'll smile a lot, like so much that you'll wonder if her face hurts. And she'll laugh at everything you say, even if it's not that funny."

Max nodded. "You sure know a lot about this."

"Not from much experience, unfortunately." Jasper sighed. "My buddy Henry's more of a lady's man than I am."

"Yeah, Veronica's better at dating than I am, too."

"Well, you're fifteen."

She raised an eyebrow. "And? How old were you when you started dating?"

After thinking back to the girlfriend he had when he was only fourteen, he chose not to answer.

Max smirked. "Yeah, thought so."

They continued the walk in silence, but it was more comfortable than earlier. When they reached the hospital, they were greeted by Althea and Mark, who led them to a waiting room where their friends were hanging out.

As Althea introduced her friends to Jasper and Max, Max watched the woman curiously. She noted the way Althea dragged Jasper along by the arm, a wide smile on her face as she giggled at whatever he said.

Max crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the wall. She smirked as she watched the pair make their rounds.

"Huh," she hummed knowingly.

•••••

Kid Danger glanced over his shoulder at his group storming down Main Street. City hall stood at the end of the street, flanked by adults with weapons probably on their hips. The sun was setting behind it, engulfing the building in a warm orange glow and casting a soft shadow across the city. Despite the circumstances, he had to admire the beauty of it.

Somewhere in that building, Minyak's cameras finally picked up some activity that made his blood boil. _Ah, there he is!_ _Some kids just don't learn, do they?_ He typed in a few commands into his keyboard, hit Enter, and sat back to watch the show.

Crowds of adults flooded in from the side streets, surrounding the teenagers. The rebels squeezed together and turned to face their opponents. Although most were scared, they never let the fear show on their faces. Instead, they snarled and glared and clenched their hands into fists, ready to fight their way to the mayor's office.

Kid Danger narrowed his eyes at the building.

"You guys ready?" he called.

"Yeah!"

"Let's do it!"

The superhero met Charlotte's eyes, and they nodded to each other.

Charlotte raised her wiz band to her mouth and pressed a button. "Ready Schwoz?"

"Ready!" he replied eagerly.

"Do it," Kid Danger ordered.

The adults were closing in on them. Some reached for their guns, and others were already taking aim. Kid Danger held his breath. He had his hand on his own weapons, ready to fight back if things went south.

Just as the sun disappeared completely behind the skyscrapers, the streetlights flickered out with it. One by one, like dominoes. The teens watched Main Street inch its way toward complete darkness, all the way to city hall.

The teens were still, waiting with bated breaths for the last light to disappear from the city building.

Finally, Dr. Minyak's headquarters fell into the same blackness that enveloped the rest of the city.

At the same time, the adults surrounding the teens collapsed. Their knees buckled, and they fell into slumps on the street. Their guns bounced across the concrete before resting silently inches from their holders' grasps.

For a moment, nobody moved. They worried that even the slightest movement would undo whatever had just happened, as silly as it sounded.

Kid Danger counted in his head. _One, two, three, four, five_.

"I think it worked," Piper decided carefully.

Charlotte nodded. "Yeah, I think it did too. We should get going."

"Yeeaaahhh!" Spray Z hollered. "This bastard's going down!"

Kid Danger chuckled. He nodded toward the city building and continued down the street. "Let's go save Swellview."

•••••

Captain Man couldn't quit laughing.

"No, no!" Minyak bellowed. He was pacing around the control room, frantically pressing buttons and slamming his hands on the table when nothing happened. "What the bloody hell happened?"

Nurse Cohort stepped tentatively into the room. "The entire city lost power."

"How?!" Minyak growled.

"Hehe…" Captain Man took a deep breath. "Whew, I really owe Schwoz for this. Not only did he just destroy your control over the city, but now I get to sit back and watch you freak out in your final moments of freedom. It won't be long before Kid Danger arrives and frees me, then you're gonna be screwed."

Dr. Minyak glowered at the man. "No, no I _refuse_ to lose like this. This is the goddamn city building; there has to be another form of energy! If we don't find a generator, I'll bloody build one myself! I will _not_ be outsmarted by someone named _Schwoz_ and _children_."

He shooed Nurse Cohort out of the room and stormed after her. He wasn't quite finished yet, and when he returned power to the city, he was going to make Henry Hart regret _ever c_ oming out of hiding.

•••••

The rebels jogged halfway to the city building before they decided to slow down and rest. Even if there were a lot of them, they'd need energy, just in case something went wrong.

"I can't believe this is finally going to be over tomorrow," Veronica admitted. She gazed around Main Street, savoring the beautiful silence she never thought she'd experience in a city.

Kid Danger nodded. "Yeah, I know. It doesn't seem real. I know it's only been two weeks, but it feels like two months."

Veronica kissed his cheek. "Gotta say, I'm going to miss the freedom."

"I told you, you're not going back to juvie. I'm not letting that happen."

She smiled softly. "That's not what I meant."

Charlotte crossed her arms over her chest as she watched the exchange. She knew something was up with them, but she never thought he'd be dumb enough to actually get back together with her.

He caught her eye over Veronica's shoulder, and his face fell guiltily. Yeah, he'd definitely been caught. Shit.

"Uh, hey guys?" Spray Z called. "If the city doesn't have power, then shouldn't that include city hall too?"

Kid Danger's stomach dropped as he whirled around. No, it couldn't be. He couldn't have gotten a generator up and running in that short amount of time.

Then again, this was an evil genius they were dealing with.

 _Fuck_.

"We have to go now!" Kid Danger shouted, breaking into a run. "Hurry, before the adults start to wake up again!"

Charlotte and Veronica chased after him, and the others followed. They were only one block from city hall, nearly there! More than nearly, practically through the front door! Kid Danger pushed forward with everything in him. They had to get inside now, when there was a break in the security and nobody could stop them. They needed to get inside and apprehend Dr. Minyak before he could retaliate.

They needed to finish this and finally, _finally_ save the city!

•••••

Back in his control room, Dr. Minyak chuckled darkly as he started up his programs again. Kid Danger may have stumped him, but the boy really was idiotic if he thought a simple power outage would stop a _genius_ in his tracks.

The scientist glanced toward the corner of the room with eyes glistening in excitement. Things were about to get interesting.

•••••

Kid Danger took the stairs two at a time. He tried remembering the directions from his last visit in his head. Up the stairs, take a right…

"Kid Danger!"

A shrill cry made him trip. He fell to his knees on the concrete stairs, and he ignored the pain that shot up his leg as he looked over his shoulder to see what happened. His face paled at the sight.

The adults were awake, and they had swarmed the rest of his group. They'd been cut off from him, completely isolated and in need of serious help.

"No," Henry whispered. "No, no, we were so close!" He turned back to the city building. The front doors were literally mere steps away. Dr. Minyak was in there, he was within reach of being defeated.

They were almost home free.

"Kid Danger!" Charlotte yelled.

"We need some help down here!" Piper added.

To their credit, they were holding their own really well for people with little to no fighting experience. The Wall Dogs had cleared a path to escape into the street, and most had already taken off.

Henry growled. He slammed his fist against the stair and hung his head. Damn it, damn it! Just when he thought he actually had a chance.

He climbed to his feet slowly. Now wasn't the time to wallow in what could've happened. Now was the time to run back down the stairs and protect his friends.

Kid Danger yelled as he barreled into a woman closing in on Piper. He turned and punched a man in the face, then he ducked under a foot flying at his nose.

"Run!" he ordered. "Regroup at the hospital!"

"Kid Danger!" Piper cried. She had cleared the attack, but there were more adults racing to the scene. He couldn't fight them all on his own!

"Go, Piper!" he growled. He kicked someone in the gut, and they tumbled down the stairs. "I'm right behind you!"

Charlotte yanked on Piper's arm. "C'mon," she urged, dragging her down the stairs. "He's got this; he'll be fine."

 _He'll be fine. He will_.

Henry grabbed a man's shoulder and threw her down the stairs. There was an opening, a straight shot down the stairs and into the street where he can find cover. He took it, stumbling down the stairs as pain shot through his leg, and his calf throbbed painfully. He wished it would just go numb already, seriously.

His feet hit the sidewalk, but he couldn't move as fast as before. His wound was aching, and his legs were like jelly. Henry stumbled and fell to the ground. His legs were on fire; he didn't know if he could even stand.

A loud _bang_ rattled his eardrums. A few yards in front of him, Charlotte and Piper ducked and screamed in surprise. Nobody fell, thankfully. Another bang erupted from behind, strong enough to make his chest hurt. A third gunshot had him curling in a ball and pressing his hands to his head.

"Henry!" Piper screamed.

Henry tilted his head back to look at her, but she wasn't staring back. Instead, her gaze was settled on something behind him. Charlotte was also frozen in place, eyes wide and mouth open in fear.

He didn't want to look, but a cold shadow fell over his body, and he knew he had to. He had to face whatever daunting figure towered over him, whether it was Dr. Minyak or someone worse.

When he craned his neck to meet the eyes of whoever caught up to him, the color drained from his face.

"No…" he whispered. He shook his head frantically, refusing to believe it. With whatever strength he could muster, he pushed himself away from the man to get a better look. He needed to see from a different angle because this man could _not_ be who Henry thought it was. He just couldn't.

Tears welled up in Piper and Charlotte's eyes. Piper squeezed Charlotte's hand tight enough for her knuckles to turn white. They too were in denial because it couldn't be… Not him…

But, it was. Standing tall in his red and blue uniform, a pair of black sunglasses covering his mask, Captain Man stood in the middle of the battlefield, looming over Henry like an angry storm cloud.

And there was a gun in his hand, aimed right at Henry's forehead.

* * *

AHHHHHH IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING!

i've wanted this to happen since i had the idea for the story and now! it's finally happening! you have no idea how excited i am for this :D

i know it's been a while, and as always i apologize. i should get the next chapter up soon though because i have a five hour flight in a few days, and i intend to use eveyr bit of it writing the next chapter!

tell me what you thought, and thanks as always for reading! :)


	16. kid danger vs captain man

Time stood still as Henry stared up the barrel of the gun aimed at his face.

"Ray," Henry whispered. He shook his head slowly, still not believing what he was seeing. How could things come to this? How could their world fall so far that they were enemies instead of partners? He was the indestructible _Captain Man_ … He wasn't supposed to be captured, and he definitely wasn't supposed to be controlled. Not by the likes of a lowly _villain_.

Captain Man's wounds were healed. There weren't any bruises on the skin that was exposed. He didn't flinch when he bent his wrist from the pain the tight handcuffs left behind. Dr. Minyak had to have restored his powers. Shit, of course he did. He needed to send out somebody who couldn't lose, somebody who had a 100% chance of beating Kid Danger…

"Henry!" Charlotte screamed. She cupped her hands around her mouth. "RUN!"

That snapped him back to reality. Henry scrambled away from Ray and slowly pushed himself to his feet. His calf was throbbing, but he had to ignore it if he was going to make it out of there in one piece.

Henry took one step toward the girls, and a hand grabbed his shoulder. The grip was strong; it jolted him back with one tug. When Henry turned his head, he saw something black out of his peripheral vision. He raised his arm just in time for the attack to connect with his forearm instead of his temple.

He pushed himself away again, this time turning to face Captain Man instead of running. Clearly, his mentor wouldn't be letting him go that easy.

"Henry!" Piper cried.

The blond turned his head just enough to shout over his shoulder, "Go! I'll be right behind you!"

Charlotte tugged on her wrist. "C'mon," she mumbled.

"But, Charlotte—"

Suddenly, an adult lunged at them. He was twice the size of Charlotte with a beer belly that jingled when he moved. He waved his arms at the girls, trying to grab and hold them still. Three more adults flanked his sides, and they were beginning to close in.

Charlotte almost punched him, but Piper beat her to it. She stomped on his foot and shoved him away.

"Okay," Piper decided, "maybe we _should_ get going." Then, she turned and ran in the opposite direction.

Charlotte stole a final look at her best friend before she chased after Piper.

Henry listened to the footsteps fading behind him. He raised his arms in front of him and took a fighting stance. Whatever adults that had been surrounding them either retreated, or they were running after Charlotte and Piper.

Only Kid Danger and Captain Man remained.

The older struck first, throwing a fist toward the other's face. Kid Danger blocked immediately. He retaliated with a kick, which was dodged. They continued back and forth in a frenzy of attacks and counters. Punch, kick, dodge, dodge. Sweep the legs, kick back up. Duck. Jump. Back and forth; they moved too quick to keep up.

Kid Danger was doing well dodging. He was just trying to stall and give the girls time to get away. All he had to do was last a few minutes, then he could run.

Suddenly, Captain Man landed a hit to the cheek. The blond staggered; he tasted blood. With his head turned, Captain Man took his chance to strike again. He drove his fist into the teen's side. He didn't even flinch when Kid Danger collapsed, choking.

His side, his cheek, they both hurt. He pressed his hands to the concrete and tried pushing up, but something knocked him down again. The air left his lungs. Attacks pelted his side, his arms, his hip. He raised his arms over his head, and his body curled into itself. One after another, never ending; the next was just as strong as the last.

"Stop!" Kid Danger shouted. "Stop it!"

He rolled over, even though his body was _screaming_ and _aching_ with each move. He landed on his side, and he forced himself up. His arms trembled as they struggled to support his weight. Kid Danger used his good leg to stand; the other was barely hanging on.

Captain Man stalked toward him, shoulders back and chin raised like the overconfident bastard he was. He even had the audacity to smirk, and it chilled Kid Danger to the bone. That smirk was heartachingly familiar; he was always showing it off to the villains just before he defeated them.

Kid Danger raised his fists again, and his mentor _laughed_.

"Do you really think you can win?" Captain Man sneered.

The teen's breath caught in his throat; he hadn't heard any of the mind controlled adults speak yet. Why did the first one have to be Captain Man?

"You couldn't even defeat Dr. Minyak when you had the chance."

"I—"

"C'mon. I know you aren't indestructible, but I thought even _you_ could've handled a loser like him."

Kid Danger swallowed hard. He narrowed his eyes.

Captain Man shrugged. "Guess I just had too much faith in you."

"This isn't you talking. Fuck off Minyak, I can see the mind control glasses!" Kid Danger spat out a glob of blood and grit his teeth.

"Oh, these?"

The older man raised a hand and tore the glasses off his face. He tossed them aside carelessly.

Kid Danger's mouth dried as he watched them shatter on the concrete.

"I snagged them on the way out, but they aren't _controlling_ me. I'm Captain Man, after all. And you," he stormed forward, "are supposed to be Kid Danger. You're supposed to take over when I'm gone, right? How can I trust you to watch over Swellview when you can't even save it?"

"Well—"

Captain Man stepped toward his sidekick again. "Maybe I _did_ choose the wrong person."

Kid Danger shook his head. "No, you didn't. I'm trying. I've been trying—"

"What, your best? You've been trying your best?" Captain Man scowled. "Clearly, your best isn't good enough. Or," he shrugged again, "maybe _you're_ just not good enough."

"Shut up," the teen growled. He swung a fist at Captain Man's face, but it was knocked away.

"Look at you. You're not strong enough to even put up a fight."

Captain Man punched, and a _crack_ cut through the street.

Tears gathered in Kid Danger's eyes as he turned his head to nurse his nose.

"You're definitely the weakest sidekick I've had."

"Shut up!" Kid Danger yelled. He flung his fists in rage, over and over, wailing on the man who meant everything to him. He refused to let the man who built him up over the past four years tear him right back down.

"This isn't you! Captain Man wouldn't say this, ever!" Kid Danger kicked his foot into Captain Man's gut. The older actually stumbled back. "Stop controlling him, asshole!"

"Even if I am being controlled," Captain Man caught Kid Danger's hand and twisted arm until his wrist touched painfully between his shoulder blades, "the odds are still against you. If you couldn't even manage Minyak and his lame 'minions' or whatever the hell he calls them, how are you going to manage against someone who's _indestructible_?"

Kid Danger slammed his elbow into the other's ribs. He slipped out of the tight grasp, but a pair of strong hands grabbed his shoulders. They slammed him into the concrete. He tilted his chin back and groaned; black spotted his vision.

But he was up immediately, narrowly avoiding a bullet aimed straight at his forehead. His hypermotility was saving his ass for now, but his energy was draining. He needed to make an escape, and fast.

So, even though he hated retreating from a fight, Kid Danger took the first opportunity he had to run. His bad leg was practically numb, and the other was two steps away from giving out. He managed on adrenaline alone.

"That's right!" Captain Man called after him. "Run! Run like the coward you are!"

The cruel, taunting laughter of Swellview's favorite hero filled the streets as his sidekick fled desperately to safety.

•••••

Charlotte and Piper were a few blocks from the highway when Charlotte demanded they take a break. After zigzagging through the city, they finally lost the mob chasing them and found their way back to main street. They'd already jogged six streets, and her lungs were going to burst if they tried for any more.

They found shade in an alley next to a CD store. Charlotte slid down the wall, and Piper sat across from her.

"I wonder if the others made it back yet," Piper wondered aloud.

"Probably," Charlotte sighed.

"Do you think Henry is okay?"

Charlotte pressed her lips together. She remembered the last time Henry fought Ray… It didn't end well. She couldn't imagine this one having a better outcome.

"He'll be fine."

Piper rolled her eyes; she obviously didn't believe a word of it. That had been Charlotte's same answer to anything involving Henry. It was starting to get old.

"He doesn't have a chance against Captain Man, does he?"

"To be fair, no one does." Charlotte smiled sheepishly. "Beating an indestructible man is impossible."

"Would… Captain Man wouldn't, like, kill him, would he?"

"No," Charlotte answered quickly. "No, no way."

Silence fell over them as they tried to believe that answer, too.

Charlotte stood. "Are you ready to keep going? We need to get to the hospital and fill everyone in on what's happening."

Piper nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

The girls crept back out into the open. Nobody was around, for once. Maybe with Dr. Minyak's focus on Kid Danger, he called the others off.

"Looks like we've got a clear shot," Charlotte commented.

"Thank god."

A few streets into the second half of their journey, Piper caught sight of a few adults walking around a city park. It was the same park two blocks from their neighborhood. None of them spotted the girls yet, so they hoped to sneak past unnoticed.

Then, a man turned toward them as they were crossing the intersection. He was at the edge of the park, and there was a dark skinned woman next to him.

"Oh shit," Piper muttered. "They caught us."

Charlotte clenched her teeth as she looked over to see how bad it was. Were they going to have to run from an army again, or could they manage to take down a few? Her eyes drifted to the park, and her entire body froze over when her gaze settled on the couple.

Piper stopped a few steps ahead and looked over her shoulder. "Charlotte?"

Charlotte moved forward until her toes peeked over the edge of the sidewalk.

"Mom?" she called across the street. "Dad?"

•••••

"So, after carefully cutting around the bullet, you use these to cut it out," Althea explained, holding up a pair of silver medical scissors. "You have to be careful cutting around the nerves, so we'll handle that part. What you guys will be doing, if you're comfortable, is sewing up the wound after we're finished."

Jasper looked at the tomato he'd been practicing on for the last forty-five minutes. There were crooked lines sewn into it. "Yeah… I can do it, but they're going to have a funny scar." He decided to blame it on the lack of lighting in the operating room (a lantern didn't provide enough to sew up a wound).

Max scoffed. "Amateur." She held her banana in front for them to examine. "Mine's _perfect_." She was right; the two openings she'd been practicing on were sewn up with neat, straight lines that ended in a small knot.

Jasper rolled his eyes. "Show off."

Mark entered with four water bottles hugged to his chest and a flashlight resting between his lips. He hummed loudly, trying to get their attention.

As he handed the drinks out, Althea asked, "Any word from Kid Danger?"  
He removed the flashlight from his mouth and shook his head. "Not yet. I tried calling him, but there was a ton of static on his end."

Jasper's eyebrows furrowed. "I hope they're okay."

"HEY!" someone shouted down the hall. "HELLO? ANYONE AROUND?"

They shared surprised looks before Althea led them into the hallway. Althea's mother was standing just inside the doorway, pointing at a group of teenagers lingering by the front door and speaking frantically in her language.

Althea quickly hooked her arm around her mom's and led her back toward the waiting room. As she passed, Althea shot Jasper a look that begged for help.

Jasper raised his chin and marched into the front office. Althea was counting on him to calm them down, after all!  
"Hey, stop yelling!" Jasper ordered. "This is a top secret hiding spot for them."

Veronica raised an eyebrow. "Who's around to hear us? Everybody's on the other side of the highway!"

"You never know who could be out there!" Jasper's eyes scanned the Wall Dogs carefully. "Wait, where are—"

"We lost them," Spray Z explained. He was holding his GoPro in front of his face.

Jasper's face fell. "What do you mean you lost them?!"

"Minyak got the power up and running faster than we planned," Veronica explained. "We were attacked outside of city hall and had to get out of there. I'm pretty sure they're right behind us, though."

Jasper pulled at his hair. His best friends were out there, probably in big trouble, and he couldn't do anything to help! What if they were hurt? Or worse?!

He ran his fingers over the wiz band on his wrist. He pressed a button and raised the device to his mouth. "Charlotte?" he called. "Charlotte, are you there? Oh, please tell me you're still alive."

 _Silence_.

"Charlotte! Answer me, damn it!"

 _Silence_.

"Gah!" Jasper turned toward the door. Spray Z, Max, and the other Wall Dogs watched him curiously. He ignored them and stormed for the entrance.

"Whoa," Max caught the back of his shirt, "where are you going?"

"I'm going to find them. They might need help!"

Veronica snickered. "Nah, you wouldn't last a second out there."

"I've done extremely well on my own, thank you very much!"

"Eh, just let him go," Spray Z shrugged. "What do you care if he comes back or not?"

She glared. "I don't. I just don't want to hear his herbert friends complain about him being dead or something."

"Hey, they're not herberts," Jasper defended, waving a finger at her. He paused, then, "What's a herbert?"

"The fact that you don't know makes you a herbert."

"It's not even a real word!"

"That's exactly what a herbert would say."

Althea slipped through the doors into the waiting room.

Jasper glared. "You're not making any sense—"

"HELP!"

The group turned toward the front doors. Jasper pushed past them and raced out because _that was Charlotte, definitely_.

She and Piper had just rounded the corner leading into the parking lot. They were running hard, faces red.

A few steps behind were two adults, one looking surprisingly familiar. They reached for the girls, swiping their hands and just barely missing the backs of Charlotte and Piper's t shirts.

"Anybody have a signal cancelling ball?" Jasper demanded.

"I do!" Max answered. She fished the device out of her pocket, and the crowd split for her to reach the front. She pushed into the outside and held the ball above her head, ready to throw.

She waited until Charlotte and Piper passed before she slammed the ball onto the concrete. The adults stumbled to an abrupt stop inches before the blocks at the end of the parking spots. Their bodies trembled as the signal was destroyed, and they collapsed to the ground.

Charlotte sagged with relief against Jasper. He grabbed her arms to keep her steady, and they both stared at the lifeless bodies a few feet away.

"Char, are those your parents?" he asked softly.

"Yeah." Charlotte swallowed. "Yeah, I finally got them."

While Althea disappeared to retrieve Mark and the rest of her friends, Veronica turned to Piper and Charlotte for answers.

"Where's Kid Danger?" she demanded.

Piper and Charlotte shared a look that intrigued even Spray Z. Jasper frowned, and he looked from one to the other.

"What?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

Althea returned with her friends. They continued into the parking lot to work on the adults, but she lingered when she noticed the concern etched into her teammates' faces.

"Did something happen?" she questioned.

"Kid Danger…" Charlotte took a deep breath. "He's fighting Captain Man."

•••••

It had been roughly forty-five minutes since Schwoz killed the power to the city. There had been no word from Henry or the other kids yet. He wondered if it was safe to turn the power back on. Sitting in the dark surrounded by candles was only relaxing for so long.

His stomach growled. Without power, he was also stuck in the Man Cave without food. Hm, maybe he _should_ turn the power back on, at least for a minute…

Schwoz took a deep breath. He stood from the couch and made his way over to the giant lever at the back of the Man Cave. He couldn't see it, but there were only so many giant levers, you know.

With a huff, he shoved the lever up into its original spot. Slowly, the Man Cave flickered back to life. It was like a carnival!

Almost immediately, one of the tubes dropped from the ceiling, and the alarm sounded. Schwoz turned, eager to see who it was. Hopefully, it was the kids returning with Ray to tell him that everything was back to normal!

Kid Danger dropped, and when the tube disappeared, he collapsed in a heap on the landing pad.

"Schwoz," he groaned. "Help."

A chill ran over Schwoz's body. He didn't have a clear look at Kid Danger, but he could see the red. It was everywhere, mostly on his face. His nose was covered, and his lips were spotted. There were parts of his uniform with splotches of color where they shouldn't be.

Kid Danger gently tore off his mask and tossed it to the side. "I can't move."

Schwoz approached slowly. He knelt next to the boy and looked him over. "What happened?"

"Minyak has Ray now."

Dread pulled at Schwoz's heart. He wasn't sure what hurt him more: that Minyak took control of Ray, or that Ray did _this_ to Henry…

"Do you have your gum?"

Henry nodded. He reached into his tool belt, grabbed the gum dispenser, and poured a ball into his hand. He raised his head just enough to pop the candy into his mouth, then he laid back down. He chewed slowly and tried not to wince every time his jaw throbbed. Even blowing a bubble strained muscles he didn't know could ache. Though, once he was changed into his civilian clothes again, he felt more relaxed.

"I'll be back," Schwoz promised. He climbed to his feet and rushed off to grab his first aid kit.

He returned a minute later and set to work. Gently, he pulled Henry's shirt up to his chest. Schwoz's nose scrunched when he spotted the darkening bruises trailing Henry's ribs. He pressed his fingers to the skin and carefully applied pressure.

Henry hissed in pain, and Schwoz retracted his hand. "Sorry."

"It's okay."

So, broken rib, check. Probably broken nose, check. Black eye, check. Schwoz didn't want to see the rest of the injuries.

"I don't think we can beat him this time, Schwoz," Henry admitted.

Schwoz chuckled. "Of course, you can. You always do."

"No, _I_ don't. _Ray_ and I do. Having an indestructible guy on your team usually determines the fight, and he's not on our side this time." Henry stared at the ceiling. "I can't do this."

"Why?"

" _Why_?" Henry scoffed. "I'm not indestructible, for one! Look at me. I've fought guys way bigger and stronger than Ray before. Have I just been getting lucky these last few years?"

"Not necessarily." Schwoz shrugged as he dabbed alcohol to Henry's lip. He mumbled an apology when the teen whined. "Ray's always had your back until now."

"I never thought I'd actually have to fight him."

"I know. I didn't either."

Schwoz worked in silence until he was finished. He did all he could with bandages and cleaning liquids. Now, the best he could offer was one of the guest beds in the Man Cave.

Although, Henry was perfectly content with sleeping on the floor.

"Just go grab me a pillow and blanket," he reasoned. "I could honestly pass out right here."

"Ah, I need to check for a concussion."

Henry groaned. As Schwoz reached into his bag for a small flashlight, the corners of his lips tugged into a smile.

"Can I still sleep if I have a concussion?"

"Mm… Probably."

"I wouldn't even care if I didn't wake up again."

Schwoz frowned. "Henry—"

"I'm just," Henry sighed. "I'm so _tired_ , Schwoz. I've been hurt more in the past two weeks than I have in my whole career. I don't want to go back out there." His eye lids were starting to droop. "Do I have to go back out there?"

"Well, someone has to save the city."

"I don't think it's going to be me."

Henry fell asleep before Schwoz could do the concussion test, though Schwoz was pretty certain a concussion was present.

With a sigh, the scientist climbed to his feet and headed toward the back of the Man Cave.

He returned a few minutes later with a pillow and blanket.

•••••

"Henry!"

Jasper's voice cut through the Man Cave; it startled Schwoz.

"Henry! Are you there?"

It was coming from Henry. Perhaps his walkie talkie was still on him? Schwoz paused his recorded TV show and walked over to the teen still asleep on the ground. He reached into Henry's side pocket and pulled out the device in question.

"Helloo," Schwoz replied innocently.

"Schwoz!" Charlotte cried. "Where's Henry?"

"He's here."

"Is he okay?" Piper asked.

"Ah, well… Why don't you stop by and see him for yourself? We may have somethings to discuss anyways."

Charlotte confirmed, "Okay, we'll be there soon."

Schwoz sat back on his ankles and watched the teenager sleep with a heavy sigh.

•••••

Dr. Minyak grinned when Captain Man returned to city hall that evening. He even went as far as _clapping_. For his archenemy. Crazy times, indeed.

"Bravo," he praised. "My only complaint is that you let him get away."

Captain Man shrugged.

"Oh well, it doesn't matter anyways. We've got bigger and better things to accomplish, my new friend."

Dr. Minyak walked out the front doors, and Captain Man followed obediently.

Parked outside city hall were four large transport trucks. Each were filled with adults armed with mind-control guns. They were facing Main Street, ready to depart at any time.

The evil genius grinned wickedly.

"It's time we expand this little empire."

* * *

i just wanted to let you guys know that we are **officially** halfway through this book! so, if you were thinking this is dragging on forever and you can't wait for it to be over, sorry, there's still more of their story to tell. if you weren't thinking that, yay! thank you for reading and sticking with me this past year! :)


	17. split up

Henry slept for the rest of the evening and well into the next morning.

When he finally woke, it was to a dog barking and laughter nearby.

He was still lying on the ground, surrounded by pillows. He tried sitting up, and the pain in his ribs restrained him from moving too much. So, he settled back on his pillow with a sigh.

"Schwoz?" he called.

The TV shut off somewhere behind him. He guessed they were watching Dog Judge reruns (which, if you don't recall, is simply a show about a golden retriever who is licensed in practicing law. It's a riveting production). The idea made him a bit nostalgic. Henry remembered the whole gang hanging out in the Man Cave, watching their favorite shows without a care in the world. With everything going on, that time felt like years ago.

Charlotte knelt next to him. She brushed a hand through his blond hair that was still soft, even after a dangerous fight and sleeping on the ground.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Sore. My side kind of hurts."

"You might have broken ribs," Schwoz informed. "I think yes, but then again, I'm not a doctor." He shrugged sheepishly.

Jasper sat on the other side of Henry. He crossed his legs carefully, making sure to avoid Henry and the pillows surrounding him.

"I wish Althea could be here," he sighed. "She actually _is_ a doctor."

"I don't think she's a full fledged doctor yet," Charlotte argued.

"Well, she knows more than Schwoz does."

"Hey!" the short man exclaimed. "Nobody knows more than I do!"

Piper pointed at her brother. "Is that a broken rib?"

Schwoz crossed his arms over his chest and glared.

Henry chuckled, even though it hurt. He tilted his chin back, so he could look at his friends one by one. "Did you guys make it to the hospital okay?"

"Yeah," Jasper answered.

Charlotte nodded. "Everyone's okay. Listen, I know our plan didn't go as well as we hoped, but we'll get him next time. Just worry about getting better, okay?"  
Henry hummed. The hand softly raking through his hair was soothing and almost enough to lull him back to sleep. With how tired and sore his body felt, he welcomed even the smallest things that helped him forget what was happening in their world.

His eyes fluttered with an internal battle to stay away because he'd been asleep for _so long_ already, and he missed his friends! He missed everybody being in the Man Cave, hanging out and watching Dog Judge. Piper was new of course, but with Ray gone, she…

Wait a second. _Captain Man_.

Henry's eyes shot open again. Everybody but Charlotte had retreated to the couch when they thought he fell asleep. Charlotte remained in her spot next to him, her head rolled to the side and resting on her shoulder (she was beginning to doze off as well).

"There can't be a next time," he mumbled.

Charlotte frowned. "Huh?"

Henry tilted his chin back to look up at her. "Char, we don't stand a chance anymore."

"Henry, we'll figure something out. It'll be okay."

"No, it won't." He shook his head even though it was throbbing again. "You know we can't beat Ray. He's unstoppable."

"Don't say that. You can't."

"Look at me, Char!" Henry exclaimed, sitting up to look at her better. "Look at what he did to me!"

Their friends looked over in surprise. Jasper jumped to his feet and raced over, but his steps became hesitant when he saw the fierce looks in their eyes.

"We can't win," Henry hissed. "We barely had a shot to begin with!" He slowly lowered back to the floor, and his eyes fell shut again. "It's over."  
Charlotte clenched her jaw. "You _can't_ say that, Henry. Everybody's counting on you!"

"I didn't ask for that responsibility."

"Actually, you did. You applied for this job. You signed up to protect the city at all costs."

Henry glared up at her. " _I can't do it_ , Charlotte! What part of that don't you understand? I _tried_. I put everything I fucking had into it, and this is where it got me. Just accept it: Dr. Minyak won. He finally beat us."

She stared for a few moments, and he refused to meet her eye. Looking at the disappointment would only make his stomach churn with more guilt than he was already feeling.

"Fine," Charlotte snapped, "give up. Take time to recover. Whatever. We're going to be out here doing what we can to save the city." She climbed to her feet and stormed down the stairs. "You can join us when you come to your senses."

"Whatever," Henry scoffed, "but don't come crying to me when it blows up in your face, too."

Schwoz lingered by the couch, watching Henry with the same disbelief and sadness everybody else was secretly feeling. It was heartbreaking viewing a hero in such a broken state.

Piper and Jasper met Charlotte at the elevator. The high schoolers shared a look full of too many emotions to decipher.

"What now?" Piper asked quietly.

"I'm going to try recruiting more people," Charlotte answered. "We need bigger numbers."

Jasper nodded. "Good idea. I guess I'll head over to the hospital to see if Althea needs any help."

Piper pressed her lips together. "And I'll… uh, I don't know. I'll figure something out."

Charlotte nodded. She glanced at Henry once more while pressing the elevator button. "I think we all need a few days to recover from this. Let's meet back here Friday after school."

When the doors opened, the trio stepped inside and waved goodbye to Schwoz.

Henry heard the elevator shut. A few hesitant moments later, footsteps retreated toward the secret door next to the monitors.

Then, he was all alone.

•••••

Jasper found Althea in Operating Room #1 (the one closest to post-op and the waiting rooms). She was leaning against the wall between two operating tables that held Charlotte's parents. They were hooked up to multiple wires, IVs in their arms, wraps around their heads.

Now that the sunglasses were off and Jasper could see their faces properly, he wished he couldn't. He knew Charlotte's parents well, ever since he was in the first grade. They were kind people and always made him feel at home when his own parents didn't. Seeing them in such a lifeless state made him shudder.

"Hey," he greeted quietly as he stepped into the room.

"Hi," she replied with a soft smile. "How've things been with you and the others? Is Kid Danger okay?"

Jasper inhaled deeply. "We're fine. Kid Danger is, uh, he just needs some time to recover. That last fight with Captain Man kind of messed him up."

Althea nodded. "I can imagine. Hearing the news kind of messed all of us up." Her gaze fell to the adults in front of her. Their heart rates were steady and strong, but she wished they'd just _wake up already_.

"I think having Charlotte's parents in here has made everything all the more real."

Jasper frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I can't help but imagine the rest of the kids across the city who are missing their parents or guardians, and they aren't as lucky as Charlotte to find them. Or, maybe that's for the best? Maybe never even catching a glimpse is better than seeing them act out in evil ways. I can't imagine what it must've been like for her."

"Thankfully, they weren't doing any too evil. She was just more shocked to see them." Jasper leaned against the wall next to her. "How are they doing, by the way?"

"They're fine. Just like the others, it will take some time for them to wake up." Althea took a deep breath and turned to Jasper. "I can't wait for this to be over."

"Yeah, me too."

He couldn't wait for things to go back to the way they were before, if that was even possible. He missed spending his afternoons in the Man Cave, usually carefree because no threat was too big for Captain Man and Kid Danger. He missed his regular classes with his peers, even the ones with a lot of homework and lessons he would never understand. He missed being able to walk down the street without constantly checking around every corner for adults looking for blood.

"Do you think things will go back to normal?" he asked quietly.

Althea's face softened. She reached for his hand and squeezed it. "I don't know," she admitted gently. "Swellview's never been normal, but I can't imagine everybody just forget this ever happened. There are parts of the city that will never go back to how they used to be."

He sighed. "It's gonna be hell explaining this to the adults."

"Well that's what your film is for, right? How's that coming by the way?"

"Fine, I guess. When this ends, I'm gonna ask the theater kids to help me edit it. I'll have to combine Spray Z's footage too. Overall, I think it'll be pretty cool. I hope it is at least."

She smiled. "It will be, I just know it."

The way she smiled made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. He couldn't stop himself from returning the grin even if he wanted to.

"C'mon, we should go check on the others," she suggested as she pushed off the wall.

Jasper followed for a few steps before an idea struck him. He reached out, fingers just barely brushing her waist before she was out of reach.

"Wait," he called, and she stopped in her tracks. "Uh, Kid Danger might be in some bad shape, and we don't have an actual doctor in the Man Cave. Do you think you could show me some basics, so that I can check on him and stuff?"

Althea's smile was soft and sympathetic this time. She nodded.

"I'd be happy to."


	18. charlotte

Jasper, Piper, and Charlotte went their separate ways after leaving Junk N Stuff. Jasper was heading for the hospital while Piper took off in the opposite direction without much say in where.

Charlotte was the same way, bidding her goodbyes with only a passing promise to Jasper to meet up later that evening at her house. The friends warned each other to be careful, and then they were gone.

Charlotte's destination wasn't far from Junk N Stuff. She had always planned on returning, though the situations were never good. She also didn't have a good pitch that would be better than last time, but her targets were idiots. She could manage.

When she arrived at the firework shop on Main Street, Charlotte was surprised to see prison vans parked out front. As she approached the front of the store, the tarp door whipped open and angry voices flooded the parking lot. She stopped beside a dumpster next to the firework shop before she could be seen.

"I hired you idiots to patrol the city and put a stop to any idiotic teen who tried defying my orders, and you _failed_ ," Dr. Minyak growled. He spun around to glower at Mitch and the rest of the Boom Brothers following close behind.

"How were _we_ supposed to know Kid Danger and his dorky friends would try to ambush you?!" Mitch cried. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"City Hall is on Main Street! They walked right past this poor excuse for a store! If you had just stepped away from your juvenile toys for two seconds, you would've caught them!"

Among the boys was Bish, lingering in the back of the group and watching the scientist warily. Her brother and his friends may not have a good sense of danger, but there was something not right with her about where this conversation was heading.

"Since I can't trust you to do your job," Dr. Minyak stepped forward and ripped the badge off Mitch's shirt, "I am hereby stripping you of your duties."

"Hey!" Mitch's face turned red with fury as he swiped at his stolen property. "Give me my badge back you British geezer!"

"Ah ah." Minyak pressed a button on a small device behind his back, and the back door to one of the trucks swung open.

Charlotte leaned forward and held her breath in anticipation along with her classmates. Her eyes were glued on the back of the truck, wondering who would step outside. Black boots with red accents hit the ground, and her stomach lurched.

The Boom Brothers' mouths fell open when Captain Man rounded the corner and stood next to Dr. Minyak. Charlotte was shocked as well. He looked completely normal, no brainwashing glasses in sight. If he hadn't just been summoned by a clicker, she almost would've believed he was acting on his own free will.

"Captain Man?!" Bish cried.

"What're you doing with him?!" Mitch questioned. "I thought you were cooler than this!"

Minyak's smile was tight. "Captain Man, why don't you teach these children what happens when they disobey me?"

Behind his back, Minyak pressed the button again. Captain Man moved forward with normalcy and a smile on his face. It gave Charlotte chills.

"Wait, huh?" Kaden asked. "You-You're the good guy! You're not supposed to hurt us."

Charlotte sat against the dumpster and pressed her hands over her ears. She usually didn't care about hearing a fight break out, but that was when she knew villains were receiving the punishment they deserved. These were kids though, classmates she'd grown up with, and that was Captain Man wrongly attacking them. She knew for a fact Ray wasn't acting on his own, but it didn't make things any easier.

Only a few minutes passed before the roar of an engine drew Charlotte back in. She hesitantly lowered one of her hands and peeked around the dumpster again. Captain Man was gone, and Dr. Minyak was walking around the prison truck to reach the driver's seat. Charlotte scrambled to the back of the dumpster before she could be seen.

"Wait…" Bish called weakly. "Captain Man… he's not even wearing the glasses?"

"It's a new mind control system I've been working on. My minions and I are targeting a new city to conquer. My technology needs to evolve along with my empire. With inconspicuous brainwashing technology, I can take over the country faster. Though, why am I wasting my breath? None of you brain dead morons know what I'm saying. Just keep in mind: Do not try to fight back." He laughed maniacally.

"You won't win."

Charlotte waited until the rumbling of the truck engines were beginning to fade in the distance. Then, she pushed herself up and hesitantly rounded the corner.

The Boom Brothers were scattered across the pavement, soon-to-be-bruises across their skin and blood on the blacktop. They were all silent, which wasn't something Charlotte had ever seen. She almost didn't want to approach them because of it; the sight was bone chilling enough.

Bish noticed her first. She caught a movement out of her peripheral, and she wiped the tears from her eyes as her gaze settled on Charlotte.

"What're you doing here?" she spit.

Charlotte froze when the boys' glares settled on her. Mitch's harsh stare was worst of all; she'd never seen him so angry. He climbed to his feet despite the obvious pain it caused, and he stormed at her.

"My sister asked you a question," he growled. "What the fuck do you want?"

"I-I only want to talk." Charlotte backed into a wall and stared at Mitch with wide eyes.

"About what?"

"About taking Dr. Minyak down."

Mitch shifted away as he considered the idea, and Charlotte's chest loosened. As the group soaked in her suggestion, she continued, "I'm going to guess you guys aren't on Minyak's side anymore."

"Does it look like we want to work for that bastard?" Aiden spat. "Look what he made Captain Man do to us!"

"Right, so come join the Alliance. We want to take down Minyak just as badly as you probably do. We're finally on the same side."

"You guys the ones who attacked Minyak yesterday?" Bish questioned. When Charlotte nodded, she continued, "Looks like you did a shit job with it. Why ain't he finished yet?"

"Captain Man surprised us, too. Kid Danger couldn't take him alone."

"Hold on, Kid Danger's on your team?" Kaden asked. He perked up at the idea.

"Yeah, and so are the Wall Dogs. Remember them? They were the graffiti criminals a few years back. Plus, we have a team of doctors who can turn the brainwashed adults back to normal."

"I don't know if I want to join a team of dorks," Mitch sneered.

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Forget however we felt about each other before. High school's over––we're all on the same level. If you join us, we'll have the numbers _and_ the strength to take both Minyak and Captain Man down."

"So what you're saying is," Aiden smirked, "you need us."

 _Kind of_. "No." Charlotte shrugged. "We can always figure out another way to win, but we're your only shot at getting revenge. If you try by yourselves, you definitely won't win. In other worse, _you_ need _us_."

The boys shared looks and mulled over her words. Bish watched Charlotte with an unreadable expression, lips pressed into a thin line and eyebrows bunched together. She was probably the closest to agreeing, but Charlotte knew she needed that last little push.

"And," she added, drawing their attention once more, "if you guys join our team, you'll be _heroes_ once we save the city." She smiled at Bish.

Mitch hummed thoughtfully. "I like the sound of that." He looked over his friends once before nodding at Charlotte. "Deal."

Charlotte beamed. "Great! I'll give you a walkie talkie tomorrow at school, so we can keep in touch with you."

Aiden whined, "This doesn't mean we have to be friendly at school, do we?"

"Not at all. In fact, it's best if we don't interact. We can't let any of the teachers know we're working together, it might tip Dr. Minyak off."

"We get to be heroes _and_ we don't have to ruin our reputation hanging out with you dweebs," Mitch summed up. "Sweet. Now, get lost. We have shit we need to blow up."

Charlotte nodded. "Sure, okay. We'll talk soon." She turned to leave, but not before catching Bish's eye one last time.

To her surprise, the bigger girl actually had a ghost of a smile on her face.


	19. piper

Previously on Invasion…

After Kid Danger's crushing defeat against Captain Man, the gang has decided to split up, take time to recover, and do what they can to keep the rebellion going. Jasper visited Althea at the hospital, and he's learning to help. Charlotte recruited the Boom Brothers into the Alliance. Now, there's one last thing to really put things into motion, and here we go…

* * *

Piper visited Jana Tetrazini when the trio departed from Junk N Stuff. She remembered a bunch of her friends being picked up by the school bus at her rival's house one morning, so she figured they were all staying there. Despite how much Piper _hated_ Jana Tetrazini, she longed for the familiarity of her friends and her old, simple middle school life.

So, she stopped by and hung out until nightfall. She even stayed the night, and it was great. Her friends filled her in on the drama she was missing out on because evil mastermind controlling the city or not, middle school drama never rests. Piper had to keep quiet about what she'd been up to obviously, but she reassured that her experience at the high school was just as eventful.

Nobody mentioned the scariness of their new world. Jana made a rule against it when she first began taking in refugees.

Piper missed her friends. She even missed Jana, which she didn't realize was possible. Being around the girls made her forget about whatever was happening outside the house, but… it wasn't as fun as she remembered it being. She was nostalgic about hanging out with them, but after the dangerous missions with her brother and the Wall Dogs, sitting around and gossiping about boys just seemed… lame.

That was why on Thursday morning, she ditched school and made her way down to the movie theater. The Wall Dogs greeted her with a few waves and nods of acknowledgement. It wasn't much to most, but coming from them, that was a warm welcome.

Max was heading for the front door, duffel bag thrown over her shoulder and headphones on. She was lost in whatever music blasted through her ears that she didn't notice Piper until their shoulders knocked into each other.

"Watch it," Max growled. When she looked back to see who she hit, her face fell. "Oh Piper, hey. What're you doing here?"

Piper shrugged. "I got bored at school. Where are you going?"

Max glanced at her bag. "Gonna go tag some buildings."

"Can I come?"

The brunette hummed as she looked Piper over. She smiled. "Sure, let's go."

Piper grinned.

•••••

Max only planned on riling Dr. Minyak up. She tagged a few spots around town with the Captain Man symbol, identical to the one she left on the high school.

At first, they stayed on the outskirts, travelling down side streets to avoid the sentinels. They hit post offices and small businesses. A small part of Piper was feeling guilty for vandalizing, but a larger part revelled in the excitement of breaking the law and eagerly grabbed another paint can.

Max began feeling more confident as the day passed. They slowly inched into downtown, still keeping watch but tagging riskier locations. Excitement turned into adrenaline, and Piper bounced on her toes, constantly checking their surroundings, ready to run.

"Do you ever feel bad about vandalizing?" Piper asked as they moved to their next target.

"No," Max snorted. "Why should I?"

"I don't know. Someone has to clean this up."

"What do I care? If it doesn't affect me or my friends, then it doesn't matter."

"But it affects _someone_ , somewhere. It _should_ matter."

"If you're just going to criticize, then what're you doing here?" Max snapped.

Piper pressed her lips together and chose to stay quiet.

Max glanced at her. "You're right." She ignored the surprised look thrown at her. "This _will_ affect someone, eventually. It's what I'm counting on. People don't usually listen to a troubled kid. They push me aside like trash. That's why I don't feel bad. Having to scrub some bricks clean pales in comparison to what I've had to endure."

Piper nodded slowly. "I used to have really bad anger issues when I was younger and I still do, but it's not as bad. I don't think anybody notices that I've gotten better, though. They still see me as the brat who hated everyone. Nobody listens unless I'm screaming in their face."

"That's what I mean! People ignore us because we're kids, like we don't have anything important to say. _That's_ why I do this, to make people listen. If I tag the front of a billboard they drive past every day or a sidewalk they have to walk over to get to work, then they'll have to pay attention."

Piper grumbled, "I don't know if Minyak will care much about these Captain Man symbols."

Max smiled. "I didn't think so. That's why for this last hit, we're going straight to the source."

•••••

The teens pressed their backs against the side of the bank, only a block from city hall. Max peered around the corner and studied their surroundings. There weren't any guards in front of city hall, though they were milling around the outskirts of the property. If they waited for the perfect moment, they could get in and out before another adult spotted them.

"I've been scouting this place out for days," Max informed, turning to Piper, "wondering how I can get away with it. I tried figuring out Minyak's schedule, but he doesn't really have one. Thankfully, yesterday he left with that one cop along with three prison vans, and they haven't come back yet. I don't know where they are, but this the perfect time to strike."

"Okay," Piper pulled her lower lip between her teeth, "and what exactly are we striking?"

Max smiled. "City hall."

The next few minutes were tense and passed agonizingly slow. Max was watching, waiting for the best time to run. Meanwhile, Piper rocked on her heels, wiped her sweaty palms on her pants, took deep breaths.

Max suddenly darted, and drums pounded in Piper's ears as she raced alongside her friend. They bolted across the street, onto city hall's property, and dropped to their knees as they scrambled for their supplies.

"We need to make the symbol as big as we can," Max instructed. "I'll start with the bottom, you get the top. Hurry, we need to be fast."

Piper's hands trembled at first. The first line was shaking and uneven, and she berated herself for it. She started again with a shake of her can. She tried inhaling deeply to calm herself, but nothing was working. No matter what, she couldn't shake the chilling facts: They were in the open like sitting ducks, and if they're caught, that's it. They're done for.

"Hey," Max called, drawing her attention, "try not to worry about it. Don't tell anyone this, but I'm always afraid the police will catch me when I'm out doing stuff like this."

"How do you get past it?"

She shrugged. "I just keep going. Eventually I get lost in my art, and everything else disappears."

Piper refocused on her job. She knew that feeling too well, sinking into her passion until her world is nothing but a soft buzz. She loved it with every fiber of her being. When Henry frustrated her or her parents continued walking on eggshells, even though she knows she's getting better, Piper can escape to her notebook and immerse herself in whatever person or place she's creating.

Her eyes fell shut, and she took a long, deep breath. She shook the spray can and focused only on the soft clicking inside the metal. When she opened her eyes, her gaze was only on her creation.

She got to work.

It took an hour and a half, much longer than Max had planned. Though, they didn't notice very much. The girls fell into an easy silence, comfortable and content with each other. Every now and then, one would make a joke or a comment that triggered a conversation that led to nowhere. That's okay, it made the time pass.

The Captain Man symbol was the same width as the concrete stairs leading into city hall when they were finished. Piper wiped the sweat off her forehead with a sigh. Max stepped backward to join her, and together, they looked on in admiration.

"This is incredible," Piper admitted. "He won't be able to ignore it now."

"Yeah, but it's missing something. C'mon, we need to make sure he doesn't forget about us."  
•••••

Gunshots outside of city hall drew Nurse Cohort away from her office. She stormed to the nearest window, angry that her TV marathon was interrupted. Those mindless zombies better actually catch somebody this time if they dared cause so much commotion.

She yanked the curtains to the side and glared at the front lawn. Two girls were fleeing the scene, zig zagging down the main street as four adults chased after them, firing off empty rounds. Nurse Cohort scoffed. What would those hooligans be doing this close to city hall anyway? Didn't they learn their lesson when Kid Danger was defeated?

Her eyes fell to the front stairs. They shifted up, and her mouth fell open. Cohort gasped. The hand still clenching the curtains curled into a tight fist while the other scrambled to grab her phone. She needed to take a picture or call Minyak or-or both, just… she just needed to do _something_.

The Captain Man symbol glared up at her, four times larger than the tagging left on the school. Scribbled around it in thick, black letters to match the symbols was a declaration of war:

 **YOU CAN'T**

 **SILENCE US**


End file.
